The Will of Fire Lives On
by Lilyonalillypad
Summary: Sakura was determined to make friends with Naruto Uzumaki. He did,after all,save her life. Soon,their lives were encompassed by undiscovered gifts,hidden pasts,and deeply-buried secrets.With all this how could they prevent themselves from growing apart?AU
1. Konohagakure Public Highschool

**Author's note: Hi guys I'm back with a new fanfic yayz ^_^ !! I just need to explain something that's very important this takes place in a modern Konohagakure whom I decided will have a Japanese style education, so I did a little wikipedia-ing and in Japan middle school is Lower Secondary Education and Highschool is Upper Secondary Education so I decided that I'd just combine them and make them both Secondary Education or Highschool; both of them were divided in level 1, 2 and 3 so I'm just gonna say that they're both in the same building except the "middle school" is on the first floor and "Highschool" is on the second floor. Acording to wikipedia:**

**Age: | Grade: | Educational establishments:**

**12-13 | 1 |**

**13-14 | 2 | Middleschool/Lower Secondary Education **

**14-15 | 3 |**

**15-16 | 1 |**

**16-17 | 2 | Highschool/Upper Secondary Education **

**17-18 | 3 |**

**So that's about it, as usual Chapter 1 is explaining what will happen next so read Chapter 2 before you decide wether you like this or not. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto....although I wish I did :'(**

_**R&R**_

_Chapter 1:__ Konohagakure Public Highschool_

Sakura's P.O.V. (Point of View):

My name is Sakura Haruno, I'm 15 years old and I'm from the land of Iron. I live with my dad and in terms of what happened to my mom, well to make a long story short when I was 2 yrs. Old my parents got divorced and not long after my mother gave my father full custody and stopped visiting and bonding with me… back then we lived in my mother's hometown Sunagakure, but after my mother got re-married and pregnant we encountered her and when her new husband asked if she knew us she simply said "I've never seen them in my life"

After that my dad thought it was probably for the best if we moved back to his hometown the land of Iron where I've lived up till now. It's always either snowing or really cold in the land of Iron, it basically has only two season from March to September it's like Autumn and from October to February it's like winter, so you can imagine my confusion when for my 15th birthday all my family members gave me clothing for spring and summer which made sense when my dad told me we were moving to Konohagakure. So here I am now in my dad's Navy blue GMC Sierra playing Sims 2...

"Well kiddo, here we are Konohagakure the Leaf Village" my father said, making me look up from my laptop, and I must say the name leaf village certainly suits this place, there are trees everywhere! I have never seen so much green in my life! But then again the only two places I have ever lived in are a desert and a place where most of the greenery consists of pine trees…

"So are you excited about going Konohagakure Public High School?" my dad asked as I saved my game and proceeded to turn off my laptop

"Well I guess so…"

"Well don't just say 'well I guess so…' I thought you'd be happy to go somewhere that's neither too hot nor too cold!" my dad said as I giggled a little

"Okay, okay…I'll admit I am excited about finally getting to life in a place where there's _normal_ weather, but I'm just a little worried about my first day at school…"

"Don't worry you'll do fine"

"Thanks dad"

"Hey hey! Guess what?" my dad said getting all excited like some little kid, I chuckled "What?"

"I got you a bike! It's even your favorite color, red!"

"Yes! Thanks so much dad! Finally I don't have to go to school by foot!" You're all probably wondering why I'm so excited over a bike and to be honest I have had to go to school by foot in the snow and in the rain…it's _not_ fun, I would have given anything for a bike or a pair of roller skates or _something_!

Pretty soon we arrived at our new home a nice two story house with a small porch and a one car garage; on the porch was a cute little porch swing. "Wow, Dad it's beautiful"

"Well it's not very fancy, but I figured it be good enough for you and me"

"Well, I think it's great" I said as I walked in and explored the house it had two bedrooms and two bathrooms, thank God for that! I love the idea of not sharing a bathroom with my dad for once. It also had a living room, a kitchen with an open layout that opened up to flow right into the dinning room and a glass door that led to a small yard. I left to my room to go put all my things away since everything else had already been set up, our moving company is really good. My room was gorgeous, the walls were cream and the floor was a nice cherry wood finish, in the middle of the wall that faced the outside was a small balcony, in the left corner was my bed and night stand with a lamp on it and on the wall was my dresser and a full sized mirror next to that was the door that I assumed led to the bathroom, on the other side of the room there were two book cases and a desk. I walked to the balcony and looked at the Village this was certainly going to be an intresting place to live…

Naruto's P.O.V. (Point of View):

My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'm 15 years old. My parents are Kushina and Minato Namikaze,yes I'm the son of the 4th, now if you're assuming I'm adopted or something, stop `cuz I'm not, my real name is Namikaze but I go by Uzumaki so people won't be hipocrites and treat me nice because of who my father is, only a select few now my true last name. I have never been popular, so in my first year of middle school I turned into the class clown in my effort to become popular, although my little prankster 'faze' didn't last long with the horrible grounding my parents gave me…I was calm and obidient althrough the rest of middle school, and now I'm going to Konoha High and my parents are hoping I make some new friends because I haven't had any since my first year of middle school, my only friend was Kiba Inuzaka who stopped talking to me shortly after I became class clown, I don't know _why_ he stopped talking to me but frankly I don't care, I was born alone so I don't need any friends to live, because if I did I would've been born with friends…

Sasuke P.O.V. (Point Of View):

The name's Sasuke Uchiha, I'm 15 years old and the second born child of the head of the Uchiha Corp. My '_dear_' older brother Itachi Uchiha is a child prodigy and if my mother hadn't put her foot down he would've already finished collage, but unlike my brother my mother didn't have to fight for my right to have a normal childhood, because unlike my brother I'm normal, I'm not a genius. My father's favorite is Itachi because of his genius, but I'm going to change that…I will become more _powerful_ than Itachi and I _will_ beat him. My brother is currently at one of Konoha's most prestigious universities, Akatsuki University. Meanwhile _I_ have to attend a _public_ Highschool! I've gone to private schools all my life, in fact there are only 4 public schools in all of Konohagakure! There's_ one _kindergarden, _one_ Highschool or Secondary School and _one_ university; all the others are different types of _private schools_, yet I have to go to Konohagakure Public Highschool the _only public Secondary education _in Konoha, sheesh! It's not fair, but I _will_ get my _revenge_…

* * *

**Author's Note: Well that's it for chapter one, hope you liked and I hope you read Chapter 2 before judging the story ^_^**

**This story will be updated bi-weekly, I'll try to be as punctual as possible, but just in case please subscribe to Story Alert.**


	2. Saved you! I think

**Author's note: Hey guys! I uploaded Chapter 2 the same day as Chapter 1 so you could decide for sure whether you like it or not but the rest of the chaps will be up bi-weekly. Anyone know a good beta reader you could recommend?**

'**thinking'**

"**speaking"**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto I would have brought most characters who died back to life...do you see the 4th and Sakumo Hatake walking around alive? Nope...Guess that means I still don't own Naruto...**

**R&R**

Chapter 2: Saved you! I think…

In Konohagakure three very different teenagers are heading out to Konohagakure Public High school, one on a fancy car driven by private chauffeur, one on a bicycle and one on foot. All very different indeed and completely un-aware of the fact that just by enrolling in the same school something had been set into motion…

It was 7:50 AM as Sakura Haruno nervously checked the schedule she had been given, it read as following:

Class 1-C:

8:00 - 9:00 English/Homeroom

9:00 - 10:00 Math Ms. Yuuhi

10:00-11:00 Science Mr. Orochimaru

11:00-12:00 History

12:00-1:00 Lunch

1:00 - 2:00 Japanese Mr. Jiraya

2:00 - 3:00 Clean the class room

3:00 - 4:00 Gym Mr. Maito

She also read the piece of paper which contained the names of the students in Class 1-C:

Haruno Sakura

Kaguya Kimimaro

Sobaku no Gaara

Uchiha Sasuke

Uzumaki Naruto

Wanatabe Juugo

Yakushi Kabuto

Yamada Rock Lee

'Hm…there are only 8 people in this class, me and my pink hair are going to stand out like a sore thumb…' Sakura thought as she sighed "Okay so I just have to find room 1-C" she said to herself as she started going down the stairs seeing as she had been lost for a while now.

Meanwhile Naruto Uzumaki had just finished putting on his indoor shoes and was listening to music, not really paying attention to where he was going, poor guy had no idea that Sakura was walking in the same direction also too busy to pay attention to where she was going and they bumped into each other and Naruto look up and caught the girl when she lost her footing, she looked up at him blushing and said "I'm so sorry I should've watched where I was going"

"It's fine I guess I wasn't paying much attention either" he said as he began to walk by Sakura and toward the stairs

"Wait!" She yelled as she picked up her papers and turned to face him

"What?" He replied turning to face her

"Are you a second year? You see it's just that I'm new here and I'm sort of lost, do you

know where room 1-C is?" She asked nervously

"I'm a first year" he said as he turned around about to head up the stairs

"Oh…Well I-I'm sorry for bothering you I'll just--" She began but was cut short as he sighed and said "I went to Lower Secondary education here though so I know where room 1-C is and I'm headed there anyway" and with that he began to go up the stairs but stopped mid way and said "Well are you coming or what? The upper secondary education class rooms are on the second floor"

"Oh, sorry" she said as she raced up to where he was and followed him to the classroom.

It was 8:07 and the teacher still hadn't come in Sakura was starting to worry about the first teacher being absent…she had arrived quite a while ago and Naruto had sat down at the last table in the back of the class room and deciding not to bother him she sat at a table on the opposite side of the class room, this school was certainly interesting to say the least…instead of desks there were tables like in a science classroom, in each table there were 2 chairs and in the room there were 10 tables, 5 on one side and 5 on the other which was a lot considering there were only 8 of them… Her observation of the classroom and the people in it was cut short when a man with grey hair and a mask entered

"Good morning students! Sorry I'm late, my name is Hatake Kakashi and I will be you're homeroom teacher this year so if you have any problems feel free to come to me for advise. Now when I call your name you will step up front and introduce yourselves and please tell us at least one sentence worth of information about yourselves that isn't your name. And I'm going to mix things up a little so this isn't in alphabetical order. Uchiha please step forward"

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke and I'm the son of the head of Uchiha Corp."

"Uzumaki"

"…"

"Uzumaki"

"…"

The teacher loosing his patience went over to Naruto and pull the headphones off his ears and took them walking back to his desk

"Ouch!"

"Uzumaki you're up!"

Naruto sighed and walked up front "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'd like my headphones back"

"Very funny but that doesn't count as a sentence"

"Fine, My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I like listening to music"

"And music you'll get to listen to at the end of the day when I give you your headphones back"

"Aw c'mon"

"Sit down at the first table next on the left side, the one next to the windows, you take the outer seat and Haruno you take the inner seat, the one next to the window and while your at it introduce yourself"

"Okay, my name is Haruno Sakura and I just moved to Konohagakure yesterday, it's a pleasure to meet you all" she said and the went to her seat next to Naruto

'Hm…now that I look at her carefully , she's, she's kinda pretty' Naruto thought as he gave Sakura a smile

By the time class was almost over with everyone was moved to the first four tables. At the table behind Naruto sat Rock Lee and Sasuke; Rock Lee sat directly behind Sakura and Sasuke behind Naruto. On the other side of the room next to Sasuke was Kabuto and next to him Gaara; and on the table in front of them directly in front of Gaara was Jugo and next to him Kimimaro.

"Okay, now before class is over, does anyone have any questions?" said Kakashi "Yes Sasuke?" he continued as he saw the boy raise his hand

"Why are there three groups of 1st years if each groups are each of less than 10 students?" Sasuke asked

'Clearly he's been doing his research, I had no idea each group had less than ten students' Sakura thought as she looked at Kakashi waiting for an answer to the question he'd been asked

"Hm, let me guess judging by that question you have never been in a public school before, have you?" Kakashi replied

"No, this is my first time attending a public school, I used to go to Uchiha Academy." said Sasuke

"Well in terms of what you asked, we can't have any teachers that don't have a homeroom group and that's why there are three 1st year groups" said Kakashi

"Then why hasn't the school closed down with so few students?" Sakura asked quickly analyzing what they were being told

"Ah, now that is because it's the government's obligation to provide parent's with an option other than private education, which you clearly have to pay for unlike public education which is free" Kakashi explained as he looked at the clock behind him on the wall "It seems it is time for your next class so I'll be on my way" and with that he left the classroom

The rest of the day proceeded calmly, with the exception of a really awkward science class…the teacher Mr. Orochimaru was super creepy! Soon enough the time for lunch came around and all but Sasuke spread out through the school. While Sasuke enjoyed his bento quietly in the class room, Naruto was sitting on a bench outside enjoying the day, he was about to eat his lunch when suddenly the girl from this morning, what was her name? Sakura? Yeah well she was walking backwards toward him.

Sakura fearfully looked at the senior before her as she said, "You now what I hate newbie?" Sakura moved her head slightly from side to side and the senior continued "I really hate it when newbies like _you_ ruin my day by doing stupid stuff like spilling their stupid Gatorade all over my brand new _white_ dress!"

"I-It was an a-accident" Sakura stuttered nervously as she backed away from the fuming senior

Naruto watched as Sakura stuttered and soon his eyes widened in shock as the female senior punched Sakura square in the face, he didn't even have time to think as his body acted on impulse and he stood between Sakura and the senior "Leave her alone she said it was an _accident_" he said as he glared at the senior

Sakura looked at her savior, and although she was thankful she wasn't expecting anyone to show up and help her, she could help but freak out as the senior's _boyfriend_ showed up and said "Hey babe, are these little runts bothering you?" I heard my savior mutter "Oh-uh" right before he grabbed my wrist and pulled (more like dragged me) away but we didn't get very far before the senior's boyfriend caught up to us.

I grabbed Sakura and somewhat dragged her away as I ran like our lives depended on it, we didn't make it very far before the giant jock caught up to us, at that moment I just wished Sakura and I were somewhere else, anywhere else! Just as long as it got us away from this guy, far far away, like at the school roof he'd never reach us there! All of a sudden one second we're standing in front of the jock facing our death sentence and the next we're alone on what appeared to be a…roof…c-could it be? Did somehow my wish come true? Are we really on the school's roof? At some point while I was lost in my thoughts Sakura must have moved because she was at the edge of the roof when she said "How did we end up on the school's roof?"

"You're asking me! My guess is as good as yours!"

"Well…thanks for trying to save me…?"

"Uzumaki…Naruto Uzumaki, and what do you mean _trying_ to save you? I did save you!"

"You _did_ save me this morning by helping me find my way, but just now we were about to get the crud beaten out of us by that senior's boyfriend!"

"But we _didn't_ get the crud beaten out of us!"

"Yeah, thanks to some strange unknown supernatural force!"

"I still think I managed to save you"

"You just keep telling yourself that"

"Maybe I will!"

She laughed and took his hand "C'mon let's go get some lunch I'm starving!"

* * *

**Author's note: What cha think? Do you guys like it? By the way you guys might have noticed that when I leave a review I always say that I love the story but I can't help it I only review stories I love! Anywho I hope you love mine too! I'd appreciate some feedback ^_^ **

**Well see ya around! Ja ne!**


	3. How does he know?

**Author's note: Ready for chapie three? ^_^ Enjoy!! Any suggestions for want you want in the future of the fic would be appreciated, would you like me to explain their powers and abilities a bit more?**

**Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own Naruto *sniff* *sniff* T_T**

**R&R**

Chapter 3: How does he know?!

After Naruto and Sakura got off the roof they had some lunch and soon enough all gathered back at the class room, with the exception of Sasuke who never left, for they're next class.

'Maybe Sakura isn't so annoying…' Naruto thought as he stared at Sakura while she stared out the window. Suddenly a man with spiky white hair white hair entered the classroom , jumped onto the teacher's desk, and while striking a pose said "Good afternoon students, I am your Japanese teacher, the great wonderous and amazing JIRAYA!!" he took as dramatic pause and continued "You may call me Jiraya-sensei or Jiraya-sama or maybe even Master Jiraya"

At that moment one thought went through all of the students minds 'This guy's really full of himself, isn't he?'

Naruto was the only one either brave or stupid enough to say it out loud…

"Didja say something kid?!" Jiraya said

"Yeah as a matter of fact I did!! I said YOU'RE FULL OF YOURSELF" Naruto yelled angrily

"Why you little--!" Jiraya said as he began to loose his temper

In an attempt to end the argument Sakura timidly but loudly said "U-um…Wh-what are we going to discuss in class today sensei?" She also sent a glare to Naruto daring him to even _think_ of saying a peep

"Hm…? Oh right! The class…hehe" Jiraya continued as he finished rubbing his neck sheepishly "Today I'll be giving you all a test to get to know you better both as students and people, the only requirement to pass is to be honest. As long as you answer _honestly _you'll pass! I don't care how _stupid_ and/or _personal_ you think the question is you _must _answer _honestly_!" as he said this he gave us each a test sheet

* * *

Sakura beside me got quickly to work so I too decided to begin to focus on my test

Answer the following questions

HONESTLY:

1. What's your name?

Naruto Uzumaki

2. Nice try kid, now tell me your _REAL_ last name:

I looked up from the paper my eyes wide like flying saucers…'how did he _know_ that?' I looked at Sakura's paper from the corner of my eye and she didn't have the strange second question, her second question was normal…I looked up at the teacher and he looked me straight in the eye and gave me a look that said he knew _way_ more than I could ever imagine…I looked back at my test deciding to trust this strange man and going back and answering everything and doing it _honestly_.

* * *

Naruto seemed to have calmed down so I looked down at my paper and began answering.

Answer the following questions

HONESTLY:

1. What's your name?

Sakura Haruno

2. When is your birth day?

March 28

3. Do you forgive your mother for what she did to you and your father?

'Wh-what? H-how…?' I looked at Naruto's paper and from the corner of my eye saw him look at mine…Naruto's eyes widedend and he turned his attention to the teacher… I took this opportunity to look at his paper, his paper didn't have this question I looked back at my paper 'How did he know about my mother…?' I looked up and stared at my teacher, the strange knowing look that gave made shiver, I focused back on my paper and decided I would answer _everything honestly_ no matter how _ugly_ the _truth_ was…

* * *

'I'm surprised the loud mouth beatles wanna be next to me finally shut up, guess he find the test intresting…' I thought as I looked down at my paper

Answer the following questions

HONESTLY:

1. What's your name?

Sasuke Uchiha

2. How old are you?

15

3. When's your birthday?

July 23

4. Would you say that the motivation behind your revenge on your older brother is purely motivated by a silly little fit of jealousy on your part?

'How the heck does this weirdo know I'm seeking revenge on my older brother?' I looked up at the man who is suppost to be my sensei and the he mouthed "Just answer honestly!" So I went back to my test and continued to answer much to my dislike honestly…

* * *

**Author's note: Well there ya go! Didja like it? See you guys in two weeks :P **

**Ja ne!**


	4. SATF?

**Author's note: Sorry it's late but with Mother's Day yesterday I totally forgot hehe**

**Disclaimer: *sigh* I hate to say this, but here we go…I do not own Naruto**

"Speaking"

'Thinking'

**R&R**

Chapter 4: SATF?

"Okay, well since you all finished why don't you get a head start on cleaning duty. I'll see you all tomorrow" Jiraya said as he headed out

Naruto turned to face Sakura and began talking to her "Did you notice how personal those questions got?"

"Yes, I know…it was really freaky" said Sakura just as Kakashi entered with a bunch of cleaning supplies and said "Okay, listen up! Time to clean! Meet at the gym at 2:55"

"Hai!" The students said in unison

"Uchiha, Haruno"

"Hai?"

"You two are on hall duty, here's a mop and a bucket, hop to it"

"Yes sir!"

At that moment Sasuke and Sakura grabbed the cleaning supplies and began moping the halls…

[Sakura's POV]

Being stuck on mop duty with Sasuke was an awe fly quiet job, apparently he wasn't much of a talker, giving me plenty of time to think about the test we had taken…

"SASUKE-KUN!!!!"

The loud sound forced me out of my thoughts as I looked at the origin of the sound; I looked forward and coming towards us were a group of 4 girls. The one who I assume was the leader was walking a little bit ahead of the rest, she had long blond hair that went past her knees and had had blue eyes; to her right was a girl with long pink hair (darker than my own) it was waist long and she had matching pink eyes,to the blond's left was a girl with pink hair (a similar color to the other one) she had onyx colored eyes and her hair was the shortest although it was still long, and next to her was a girl with black hair and matching eyes, her hair was so long it flooted just centimeters above the floor. When they came to stop in front of us the girl with the blond hair said "And who are _you_?"

"Me? I'm Haruno S--"

"Oh yeah?! Well listen up Haruno! _WE_ are the Uchiha Sasuke fan club and we've had dibbs on him before you could even imagine of his divine existence!"

"Oh yeah? Well you listen up _pig_, it's not _my_ problem what _you_ think, and for your information I'm just doing mop duty so _move_!" After saying this I ran to catch up to Sasuke who had continued to mop without me and as I ran towards him I heard gasps and the blonds annoying voice say "H-how dare she! That, that…that _forehead_"

[Naruto's POV]

I had just finished cleaning duty and entered the classroom where I saw Sakura standing next to that emo guy…what was his name? Uchiha?

"All the groups and grades are together in this class!" Sakura said to me as I walked up to her

Before I could reply a guy wearing a _tight _fitting green _spandex _came in, he was wearing a similar hair style to the guy who sits behind Sakura and he also had the same _bushy_ eyebrows…

"Hello students!! WELCOME or Welcome back!! Since most of you are _fresh youthful _first years I will explain my class a little. In my class all of Upper Secondary education is together, you will all pick a sport and if you'd like to participate in _two_ sports then that is perfectly fine and more than welcome!! Express your youth!!!!" Bushy brow-sensei, as I have decided to call him, said the last part with tears in his eyes and a dramatic backround…

After everyone had choosen a sport a young woman with her hair tied up came in and gave bushy brow-sensei a pice of paper, then she proceeded to make her exit as he read it, when bushy brow-sensei finished reading it he began to speak:

"Will the following students please report to the principal's office immediately:

Uzumaki Naruto

Haruno Sakura

Uchiha Sasuke

Hyuuga Hinata

Hyuuga Neji

Sobaku no Temari

Yakushi Kabuto

Kaguya Kimimaro and Sohma Tayuya"

Uh-oh…did the seniors tell on me and Sakura? They look pretty smug right now…Oh boy, when my parents found out a got into something similar to a fight, and on my first day to boot, they're gonna _kill_ me…

"Do you think the seniors told on us?" Sakura asked me nervously as we walked to the principal's office

"I think so…I mean they looked pretty smug when our names were called…" I replied to her as we reached the secretary's desk

"Good afternoon students, the principal says you may _all_ enter his office now" the secretary said in a polite tone

When we entered no one was in the office and as soon as the last person, which was me, entered the office and closed the door the metal things that stores have when they're closed came down all around the office and left us in the dark whispering for a while wondering what was happening.

I didn't know what was happening when suddenly I felt Sakura grab onto my arm and shreak as the room began to feel like an elevator going down really _fast_! I quickly grabbed onto the wall as Sakura and I were practically air born. Then just like that we came to a sudden stop and everyone fell onto the floor with grunts and 'ouchs'

"Are you ok Sakura?" I asked her as I sat up and helped her up into a sitting position as well

"Yes I'm fine, thank you. Are you alright too?"

I didn't have time to reply as I was distracted when a small door opened, light was proceeding from the door and it looked like a person could fit through it if they crawled

"W-what's that?" Sakura asked

"It looks like a door…Well there's no sense in staying here" I said as I crawled through the door which turned out to be a tunnel, only Sakura and two others followed the rest refused to come after a while of crawling the small doorway closed and clearly there was no going back now just forward…

I followed the light at the end of the tunnel, how clishay, and came out and helped Sakura and the other two people who turned out to be girls out as well, then I turned to inspect the room and saw that we were in a room that was completely white and that in the center of the room were 9 chair and in front of those chairs were my home room teacher and that guy who gave us the strange test.

"What's going on?" I asked as I approached them

"Wow! One boy and _three_ girls? I wish I was that lucky in my day" Jiraya said

"I said what's going on, ya pervert!"

"Why you little!"

[Sakura's POV]

I saw that Naruto and Jiraya-sensei were at it again so I took matters into my own hands and asked Kakashi-sensei what was going on and he replied "First of all we need you four to sit down"

Naruto and Jiraya stopped arguing and we all sat in the chairs while Jiraya-sensei and Kakashi-sensei stood in front of us. This time Jiraya-sensei spoke "You were all called to the principal's office because you have supernatural abilities, there are more than just nine of you, but only you nine were called because your powers already broke a seal which was placed on you when you were born"

"Then what about the other five?" I asked

"The tunnel was a test to see which teahcers you would get, those who decided not to take a risk will train with Orochimaru and Anko, while those who took a risk, as in you four will train with Jiraya-sama and myself" Kakashi-sensei replied

"Some of you may have already had training for your super natural abilities, but this is where you really master your abilities" Jiraya-sensei said

A girl with Sandy blond hair in four weird pony tails began to speak "Well my name is Temari and I can teleport"

"I'm H-hinata H-h-hyuuga a-and I have t-the byakugan" the other girl stuttered

"Well I'm Naruto and I'm not sure what my powers are"

"Do you remember today at lunch when you tried to save Sakura?" Jiraya sensei asked

"Yeah" Naruto replied 'Why does everyone keep saying I _tried_ to save her, I did too save her sheesh!'

"Well you wished you were somewhere else and then visualized the school roof . You're ability is teleporting" Jiraya-sensei said

"Cool" said Naruto

"So…what about me? Nothing weird has happened to me…" I said

"Hehe, well, actually that's because you're powers aren't ready yet. They haven't broken the seal" Jiraya-sensei replied

"So why am I here? I thought you said only those whose powers had broken their seals are here" I asked confused and disappointed

"Because you already saw Naruto's powers anyways, so you might as well start your training now" He replied

"Oh, okay then"

"So on with the introduction…Welcome to SATF!!" Jiraya-sensei said

"SATF?" Temari said

"It stands for Supernatural Ability Training Facility" Kakashi-sensei explained "You'll train with us every Monday, Wednesday and Friday after school"

"And you'll also train bi-weekly on Sundays, on the week you have Sunday off you'll train on Saturday" Jiraya-sensei finished

"So technically we don't really have a day off" I said

"Nope" Jiraya-sensei said cheerfully to which everyone sweat dropped

"You four will meet up at this address and wait for futher instructions there" Kakashi-sensei said handing us each a slip of paper

"So you can all go home now!! Bye-bye!!" Right after Jiraya-sensei said this the floor in front of our chairs moved and in it's place was left a hole, suddenly our chairs move forward and _dump_ us in the hole. We went down what seemed like a slide and went through _three_ loops and fell through the _ceiling_ of the principal's office and landed on his desk and next to his desk.

"Okay that made _no_ sense! How did we go from underground to falling through the ceiling?" Naruto stated

All of a sudden principal Sarutobi came in and said "What are you still doing here kids? It's already 6:39 go put away your indoor shoes and go home" he said it so casually as if it wasn't weird to see 4 students lying on the ground in the principal's office two and a half _hours_ after school was _over_.

"Let's go" Temari said and we all started to headover to the areas to change our shoes.

**Author's note: Well there ya go! By the way my final exams are next week and I don't know if I'll be able to upload Chapter 5 in time so I need to know would you rather I delay Chapter 5 for a week or just make it short and put it up at the regular time? Please give me your feedback on this important matter!!**


	5. No One Is Born Alone

**Author's Note: Hey guys, here's the new chapter. I'm sorry it's a week late, but on a more positve note it's the longest chapter I've written in this fanfic :D ! So I hope you enjoy. A special thanks to my awesome beta Persephonae for making this chapter go from good to great :D ! Also I have a Blog in which I discuss each week's new Naruto manga, please check out the blog and leave comments at www (dot) Lilyonalillypad (dot) wordpress (dot) com !**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I would like to**

**R&R**

Chapter 5: No One Is Born Alone!

I put away my indoor shoes and took out my pink cell phone, dialing my dad. By the time I finished putting on my blue Converse, my dad had answered.

"Hi Sak," he said.

I smiled at the sound of the familiar loving voice "Hey, Dad, there was a meeting at school so I didn't get out 'till now,"

"Okay, no problem. I was on my way home and, since it's getting dark, I'll pick you up. I'll be there in a few. Love you."

"Love you too, bye!" I said as I hung up.

"Boyfriend?" Naruto asked as we walked outside.

"No, I'm single. That was my dad."

"Oh."

We stood like that in silence until my dad's truck pulled up.

"Well that's my ride, um…need a ride?" I asked.

"Nah, I'm good." Naruto replied.

"Are you sure?" I asked nervously walking slowly toward my car.

"Yeah."

"Well…OK, then…bye," I said hesitantly as I opened the car door and got inside.

"Bye…" Naruto said just before I closed the door.

I watched as she drove off in her father's truck before I began to walk home. Thankfully my house wasn't really that far from the school, so soon enough, I was opening the door to my home. After stepping inside, I found myself face-to-face with my Jiraiya.

"What the _heck_ are _you_ doing in _my_ house?" I yelled.

"This is technically your _parents' _house," he said while smirking and crossing his arms

"Mooooooom!" I yelled,about to go into hysterics because of this guy.

"Oh! You're finally home, sweetie!" my mom said, giving me a hug and dragging me into the dining room. I sat down at the table and my mom disappeared into the kitchen as Jiraya came in. We began glaring at each other, continuing in our heads to insult each other for the sake of neither one giving up first.

"Here you go," my mom said returning with two glasses of milk and two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She handed one to me and one to the pervert.

"Hey Mom, what's this _pervert _doing here?" I asked.

"Pervert?" my mom repeated my question, looking confused, "Oh, do you mean Master Jiraya?"

"Mom, don't call him _Master!_ His head is already big enough! He doesn't need it to get bigger!" I said, glaring at the pervert.

"Hehe, sorry for his rudeness, Master Jiraiya," my mother said.

"It's okay," Jiraiya replied.

"Naruto, this is Master Jiraiya. He was your father's sensei," said my mother explained.

"Eh?" I replied in shock at this news.

"By the way, congratulations, hun!" she cheerfully said as she kissed my cheek

"Eh?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm saying that because Jiraiya told me your powers have broken the seal!"

"Eh?"

"What? You can't expect me to not tell your parents boy," Jiraiya said while smirking

"Eh?"

Suddenly my father came into the dinning room. He exchanged a quick hello with the pervert and then turned his attention to my mom as she said "Honey, what are you doing here? I thought you said you were gonna stay behind and do paper work?"

"I was, but when Jiraya-sensei called me and told me about Naruto's powers, I decided I'd just take the paperwork home with me, " my father explained before giving my mom a kiss in order to distract her.

"Eh?"

"Congrats, son! So, what are his powers?" my father asked looking toward Jiraya

"The only one that has presented itself is teleportation," Jiraya told him.

"Yet again my baby boy proves to be practically identical to his father," my mother smiled brightly as she shook her head.

"Congrats kid!" Jiraya said, apparently amused at my reaction.

"Eh?" I replied for the umpteenth time that day. It was all I could really say, as I was in shock from the situation. Eventually, things calmed down a bit, and that stupid Jiraiya went into the living room with my dad.

I looked up from the table as my mom entered the dining room, "Mom?"

"Yes, sweetie?" she replied.

"Does everyone have this whole super power thing? I mean, you know…do we all have powers just waiting to break their seals?" I asked.

"Not really. There are more normal people than people like us. Although 25 percent of the human population has powers like we do"

"Well, 25 percent doesn't really sound high to me…"

My mother smiled knowingly and said, "I know it's hard to find out about your powers and feel like you are alone and are a freak of nature, but in reality, you're lucky. You have so many people just like you who can be there to support you. Where I lived, there was barely anyone like me…Here in Konoha, there are so many like us. You don't realize how truly lucky you are."

"Thanks, Mom…for everything." With that I got up from the table and headed up to my room to reflect on what my mother just told me.

* * *

Soon enough, it was Wednesday-the first day of our training. I was about to head out to the address we had been given when, Sakura called my name.

"Naruto!"

"Hm?"

"Um, wanna head out to the address together? I don't wanna get lost…Not that I get lost often! Actually, I have a pretty good sense of-"

I cut her rambling short as I motioned for her to follow me with my hand. In what seemed like a short amount of time we arrived at our destination. which turned out to be Walmart.

And so we waited. Five minutes turned into fifteen and, soon, a half an hour had passed us by. I flipped the paper over in frustration

'How long are they going to make us wait?' I thought as I proceeded to read something written on the back of our instructions. I read it out loud, "He stared at her hungrily while she just gave him a look that could freeze a desert."

"That's weird, they said to wait for further orders." Sakura stated.

I stared at the paper, wondering why this would be on the back. "But this _has_ to mean something, right?" I looked at Sakura.

"You have a point, but…" She sighed giving me a worried look "Are you sure we should do this?"

"We've been waiting for half an hour and I don't know about you, but I'm not gonna wait around any longer" I reply as I began to read the riddle again trying to make sense of it.

"Okay you're right…Here let me help" she said taking the paper from my hand "Hm…well, I think since he was 'looking at her hungrily' maybe they're telling us to look for something in the food area, ne?" Sakura speculated.

"Maybe, but if that's the case, then if she gave him 'a look that could freeze', maybe it's near the frozen food," I said, heading over to the freezer area with Sakura following behind me.

"Hm, so what now" I thought aloud.

"Well…the word 'desert' sounds a lot like the word _dessert_, so maybe we have to look for a frozen dessert?" Sakura suggested sheepishly.

"Ok…yeah!" I said as I dove into the frozen section containing the many gallons of ice cream.

"Find anything?" Sakura asked, not jumping in to help me.

"Not yet" I replied as I checked another fridge "Bingo!" I said as I came out with a piece of paper. I handed it to Sakura.

"It says 'He stared at her as she took off her clothes, delicate pieces of fabric. He had pushed all the right buttons'," Sakura read the next clue.

"That perv," I muttered under my breath.

"Well this is a pretty obvious one," Sakura Sakura told me, "Let's go to the fabric section."

"He said 'he pushed all the right buttons', so we should probably check the buttons," I suggested as we walked.

"Oh no!" Sakura cried as we arrived.

"What?" I asked.

"I totally forgot about the upcoming button festival!" she said

"_Button_ festival?" I repeated, half in question.

"Yes, it's something we celebrated where I used to live. We finally managed to get a sponsor for it so we could spread the event across the nation. In other words," Sakura pointed to her right, "you see all of those five foot black barrel-like cylinders?"

"Yeah.." I replied.

"_That's_ where the buttons are," she informed me.

"Crud," I answered.

"Yeah," she agreed as trudged toward the barrels filled with hundreds of buttons.

" Hm…looks this one is almost empty," I told her as I looked into a barrel containing white buttons.

"Let me see," she said, practically sticking her entire body into the barrel.

"Oh boy," I said, sensing the approaching presence. Out of panic, I pushed Sakura into the barrel, though we were not doing anything that was not allowed.

"Hey!" she cried from inside the large receptacle.

"Shh!" I whispered as the store clerk approached me.

He eyed me suspiciously before saying, "Hello, young man, how may I help you?"

"Uh, um…my uh, my mother needed me to, uh, get some black buttons for her, uh yeah…"

He looked me over once more. "How many do you need?"

"Um...fifteen."

He gave me a 'you've got to be kidding me' look, to which I responded with, "It's a big project."

He quietly watched me before diving into the barrel with the black buttons. He was almost completely engulfed by the barrel, since he was fairly short.

I went to pull Sakura out, but she denied my help, "No! Not yet!"

I quickly let go of her and began whistling as the clerk lifted his head to stare at me before returning to his search for the buttons I had requested.

I leaned against Sakura's barrel, hearing her whisper, "Check the red buttons."

I did as I was told and found another piece of paper. I turned my attention back to the barrel in which Sakura was hiding and tried to help her climb out. The clerk began to come out of his barrel, and I instantly reacted by stuffing Sakura back into hers. This time, however, I jumped in with her.

Sakura desperately whispered, "We don't _both_ fit!"

But, her complaint fell on deaf ears as I focused on visualizing the two of us. Instead of being in this barrel, I pictured us in the barrel with the black buttons. We teleported into the intended barrel right after the clerk exited to check on the barrel he saw me climb into.

"Aha! Wait, huh?" I heard the clerk exclaim in surprise at our disappearance.

We waited until we heard him walk away. Once I was sure he was gone, I turned to Sakura, "I found another paper. Great idea checking in the red ones."

"Thanks, I figured red because it often symbolizes love and well…passion."

"Okay, now this one says, 'She was like the most beautiful flower in the garden'. Sounds like we need to go to the garden department," I concluded as I climbed out first, turning to help Sakura.

We made our way to the garden department, and found, standing next to the _pest_ control(_of course_),the one and only Jiraiya!

"Hi Jiraya-sensei! Where's Temari, Hinata and Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked as we approached him

"Oh, Kakashi and I had decided that he would meet the other two elsewhere and I would meet you two here. That's why your instructions have a riddle on the back" he informed us.

"You mean the others didn't have to do the whole riddle thing?" I asked.

"Nope! I just sent you guys on a mini investigation because I thought it would be fun!" Jiraya shrugged.

"Why you-" I was interrupted by Sakura clasping her hand over my mouth and therefore not allowing anything but muffles to be heard.

"Thank you, Sensei, for the uh, game…" Sakura spoke for us—well, _her_, "So, where do we go now?"

"Follow me," Jiraya said.

We headed for the area where the live plants were housed. When we passed through the entryway and the wind hit us, we found ourselves in a wide-open mountainous place.

"W-where are we?" I asked as I looked around in awe.

"This is one of our many hidden facilities," Jiraya informed me.

"Wow!" Sakura cried, taking in the change in scenery.

"How many of these do you have?" I asked, suddenly interested.

"As many as it takes…" Jiraya answered.

"As many as it takes to what…?" Before I could get an answer, the others appeared.

"Ah there you are!" Kakashi-sensei exclaimed.

"Lesson One, you should know the difference between each individual's ability and the chakra system," Jiraya said as he went into teacher mode

"Chakra system? That really exists?" Sakura seemed shocked.

"It does. The chakra system is a balance between mental and physical energy," Kakashi-sensei quickly explained.

"Each individual's chakra is different, just like colors. In fact, when chakra is physically visible, each individual's is a different color. No two shades are identical," Jiraya elaborated.

"Okay, so what's chakra good for?" Temari spoke this time.

"Chakra can help enhance your abilities…to an extent," Kakashi answered his pupil.

"Okay, so you're saying that, with chakra, I could enhance my speed, strength, or agility, but there's a limit?" Temari built upon Kakashi's explanation.

"Correct. Chakra can also enhance your _super_natural abilities as well, but it's not unlimited. Everyone has a different amount of chakra. Chakra _can_ be restored both naturally, by your body, or you can restore it with certain medicines. Unfortunately, however, there is also a limit to how much it can intensify a particular ability. The longer you use it, the more limited the aid will be," Jiraya said.

The conversation and questions carried on as the two instructors explained more on chakra and its uses. Soon, it had grown late, and our lesson had ended. It was nearly seven o'clock in the evening when they let us go home. The two men made some strange hand signs and we returned to Walmart's yard section. I began to walk toward the exit and Sakura followed at a reasonable distance.

"Naruto!" Sakura called as she ran up to me.

"What?" I asked, turning to face her.

"I'm glad I met you! It's good to have a friend when you're new in town," she blurted.

I chuckled and said, "Friends? We're _not_ friends. I don't _have_ friends and I don't _want_ anyWe're born alone, we die alone! If we needed friends, we would be born with friends."

I began to walk away, but stopped when I heard her voice. "You're wrong…"

I turned around to face her, though I was unable to meet her eyes, as her head was bowed, "Excuse me?"

"You're wrong! No one is born alone! When you were born, you weren't alone! Your mother was there...your father, the doctor, the nurses..."

She looked up as she continued, her hands balling into fists at her sides, "From the minute we're created, we're not alone! Our mother is with us and she sustains us for we cannot live without her. And even if you _had_ been born alone in a cave, you wouldn't really be _alone_ because your mother would be there."

Her eyes became more determined and her voice even more confident as she raised her chin a bit, speaking with pride, "So you see, humans need other humans to survive There is no such thing as being 'born alone' and 'living alone'! One is never truly alone. So if what you said about being born alone is the reason you don't wanna be friends, then you're going to have to find a better excuse Because, whether you approve it or not, I will always think of you as my _friend_. So see you tomorrow, _friend!_"

And with that, Sakura left me standing there like an idiot, in complete and utter shock as she strode away gracefully and full of confidence. She truly was something…

* * *

**Author's Note: Well thank you all for reading and see you in two weeks! Also I have a Blog in which I discuss each week's new Naruto manga, please check out the blog and leave comments at www (dot) Lilyonalillypad (dot) wordpress (dot) com ! I really hope you loved chapter 5 **

**Please Review :) **


	6. Friends?

**Author's Note: Sorry it's late, but it's only 1 day late so I think you guys can forgive me, right? Anywho this chapter is shorter than the other one was, but it was essencial to set the scene for a few things that will be happening in the future. Thank you to my excellent beta Persephonae for making this chapter awsome :) **

****

Also I have a Blog in which I discuss each week's new Naruto manga, please check out the blog and leave comments at

www(dot)Lilyonalillypad(dot)wordpress(dot)com

I wrote it like that so the site won't cut it of just remember to reemplace the (dot) for an actual .

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Well you know the drill I don't own Naruto blah blah blah**Chapter 6: Friends?

* * *

It has been two days since I left Naruto standing alone at Wal-Mart. He was absent yesterday, but I'm confident he'll come today. I mean, how could he not?

'We have training today,' I thought as I washed my face. I came out from the bathroom and put on my vest.

'Now that I think about it, for a public school, they don't have normal uniforms. Then again, people with super powers aren't very normal,' I told myself as I looked in the mirror. My uniform consisted of a plain white shirt, a navy blue vest with the initials KSE embroidered in gold, a short green plaid skirt, a gold tie, and white socks.

I combed my hair into a ponytail and used two hair clips to keep my bangs out of my eyes because I was letting them grow. I checked myself in the mirror one last time before heading downstairs.

"Good morning, Sak," My father said from the table as he finished drinking his glass of juice.

"Dad, you're up early." I sat down at the table

"I felt like getting up early. Want a ride to school?" he asked as he got up and put his plate and glass in the sink.

I smiled, "Sure,"

"Good," he smirked, "Because…I already loaded your bike onto the back of the truck."

I gasped and playfully smacked him in the arm. "Daddy!"

"What? I'm just taking care of my girl." He kissed my head

* * *

When I had arrived at school and didn't see Naruto, I had figured he was probably just going to be late. But, the first class came and went, and his seat remained empty.

And so, that brings me to where I am now: on mop duty with Sasuke-kun, again. I've been getting mop duty with Sasuke-kun all week, and seeing as he rarely ever talks, I have too much time to think. I think about last Wednesday at Wal-Mart; the last time I saw Naruto…

Recently, due to his fan girls, I, too, have taken a slight interest in Sasuke-kun. Although I wouldn't say I have a 'crush' per se. It's more like I have an _admiration_ for his physical attractiveness.

'Okay, who am I kidding? He's freaking hot!' I thought as we finished mopping the hallway.

We put away the cleaning supplies and headed to our respective locker rooms. Just as I finished getting changed into my P.E. uniform, I heard the blond fan girl's voice: "Hey, Billboard Brow!"

I merely ignored her and continued walking. This isn't the first time that blond Sasuke fan girl has harassed me. She and her little groupies have been annoying me all week. I found out that the two that stand to Blondie's left are named Kin and Tayuya.

"Hey, Forehead!" the annoying voice continued as I entered the gym.

It was followed by a different voice, "Hey Haruno!"

I turned to face them, "Yes?"

"Ino-sama was calling you," the girl crossed her arms over her chest as she spoke, "When Ino-sama calls you, you _better_ answer." It was the girl with pink hair who stood to the right of Ino

"I don't have to answer just because you're talking to me. And I don't plan on answering to anything but my _real_ name, you got that _fan girls_?" I said as I glared at them, taking a mental note of Blondie's name.

Ino took a few steps toward me, "Thank you, Karin, but don't waste your breath on a mere low-life like her."

Although her statement irritated me, I turned around and stomped toward the bleachers, where I sat down.

"By the way, Haruno, I just want you to know that even though you and Sasuke-kun mop the halls _doesn't_ mean you have any right to look at him the way you do. So this is just a heads up. Utter a single word to Sasuke-kun that doesn't involve mopping the halls, and we'll be forced to intervene," she warned me before turning around, "I won't be as peaceful and understanding with your smart remarks next time."

And, with that, her little group moved to the other side of the gymnasium.

* * *

I walked into Wal-Mart with a knot in my stomach, 'He'll show up. I mean, he has to show up…right?'

I continued to walk toward the yard department and was transported the same way as I was before. I stood there dumbfounded. In front of me stood everyone. Well, almost everyone…

Once more, Naruto failed to appear. And, even though the odds of him coming were low, I couldn't help but feel to hopeful.

"Sakura."

My head shot up, "Oh, I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei, did you say something?"

He sighed, "To make it short, Master Jiraya and I have decided to put the group into separate pairs in order to train you more efficiently. We decided that Temari and Hinata will be partners and that your partner will be Naruto."

"Oh," I lowered my head a little.

"Since your powers aren't accessible to you yet, let's focus on the basics," he gave me a happy eye crease, "Do you know any martial arts?"

"No, but I do know how to SING," I enthusiastically announced as I pushed all my worries to a corner in my mind where they would be dealt with later.

He raised an eyebrow, "Sing? Um, don't take this the wrong way Sakura, but I don't see what (omitted) singing have to do with you knowing martial arts?"

"Oh! No, not sing as in a song. I meant S-I-N-G, it's the move from the movie Miss Congeniality!" I grinned ,"S.I.N.G. It stands for Solarplex, Instep, Nose and Groin."

"Well, I guess that's always one way to defend yourself, but I still think you should learn martial arts," he said as he sweat dropped.

"True. You never know, if I fight a woman it won't be as fun of a move," I cheerfully stated as I gave him two happy eye creases of my own.

* * *

When the time came to go home, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. Naruto never came and, for some reason, it _really_ bothered me.

'I just can't seem to understand how it is that someone whom I've only known for _five days _has managed to get under my skin,' I thought as I wandered through Wal-Mart.

Without realizing it, my legs had carried me to the fabric section—back to the buttons and happy memories. I began tracing around the edge of the barrels, coming to stop in front of the barrel containing white buttons. I took a deep breath and stepped toward it. When I looked inside, there he was…

"Naruto!"

His eyes widened as he suddenly pulled me _into_ the barrel with him!

I sat there in silence for a while before speaking up, "Naruto."

"Hm?"

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb...why? Why did you just up and disappear after what I told you? Why is it that you can't even face reality? Are you running away because someone told you off? Is that it?" I asked him, my knuckles white from the tightness of the grip of my balled fists.

"I'm not running from anything!" he yelled as he grabbed my shoulders, "I-I am not some coward, ok? I…I was just thinking."

His voice shook as he continued, "I realized that because of my frustration at being left behind, at being invisible to everyone, I was turning into a negative and rude person. I kept all that bottled up inside of me and took it out on everyone around me."

He looked me in the eyes, "Everything you said was true, and you didn't deserve for me to say all those cruel things to you. So, thank you." He let go of my shoulders and looked down.

I wondered why he was being treated the way he says since most of the time without even thinking he's very kind. I wanted to voice my thoughts, but decided against it.

Instead I grabbed his chin and pulled his face up to look at mine, "You're welcome. And I believe everyone can change. I'll always be there to give you a helpful hand, so don't be afraid to ask, Naruto."

His face seemed to inch closer and, soon, our lips were mere centimeters apart. I could feel his hot breath on my skin. Then, before I even knew what was happening…

The floor gave out! We began to fall, the white buttons collapsing around us. Then we hit the floor.

"Are you ok, Sakura-chan?"

"Um, yeah I'm fine," I said, blushing at the suffix.

Before I could investigate the meaning behind it, Naruto spoke, his voice shaky, "Wha-what is this?"

I followed his gaze, and I saw it, too. It was all around us...

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**Well I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and check out the blog - www(dot)Lilyonalillypad(dot)wordpress(dot)com**

**I wrote it like that so the site won't cut it of just remember to reemplace the (dot) for an actual .**

**See you next time :)**


	7. Appearances To Keep?

**Author's Note: Well here it is Chapter 7! I can't believe it's already been 7 chapters! And pretty soon I'll reach 10, it feels so weird. Anyways, even though this chapter is short it is **_**very interesting**_**. Thank you to all those who reviewed and thank you to my beta Persephonae for all the advice and editing :) **

**Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah you know the drill…**

**So without further ado enjoy…**

**R&R**

Chapter 7: Appearances To Keep?

I followed his gaze and I saw it, too. It was all around us: dozens of giant test tube-like prisons containing strange creatures. There in front of us stood twelve of the prisons, and behind them were twelve more; they seemed to go on forever. On the opposite side of the room was a long wall-to-wall bookcase filled with fat books—some dusty, some slightly cleaner. The room was dimly lit, but directly behind us, I could see a door. It was exactly in the middle of two lines of tubes…

I turned my worried gaze to Naruto, "Forget what is this! More like 'where is this and how are we going to get out'?"

"Hm…"

Suddenly a high-pitched, ear splitting scream rang out, followed by what sounded like flesh being ripped apart. I stared, horrified, at Naruto's pale face, and we both sat there frozen in fear and unable to move. Only the at the sound of a creaky door opening behind us did we react and turn around. There before us stood our science teacher, Orochimaru-sensei, his pale complexion stained with a crimson-colored liquid. His eyes widened in surprise as he spotted us, apparently not expecting something of this sort to happen. He lowered his gazed and folded his arms across his chest and began to whisper to himself in a voice that sent a chill of terror down my spine.

"Hm…a true shame. How will I get rid of you two meddling pests? I can't just kill Minato's offspring…yet. And the boy would've suspected if I'd taken the girl. Hm, how _boring_."

He looked directly at us, quickly closing the door behind him. Up until that point, it had been left slightly open, though not enough for us to see what was inside the room.

"My, my, Uzumaki-san, Haruno-san, what are you two _doing_ here?" he hissed

"What's behind the door? What are _you_ doing here?" Naruto asked, his eyes filled with rage

"You're in no position to be asking questions, Uzumaki-san. After all, you are my student, so show a little respect, hm?" He crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. "Well enough of this, how did you two _get_ here?"

"We-" Naruto was cut off by a wave of Orochimaru-sensei's hand.

"Never mind, just _get out _of here, unless you prefer helping me with my _research_."

"Research?" Naruto repeated, half in question, anger dripping from each syllable.

Suddenly a woman with purple hair emerged from behind a row of test tubes. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at the sight of her and stared at her as if judging her every action.

"That won't be necessary," the woman with purple hair said quickly, "I'll escort them out."

She grabbed a hold of our arms and began walking down an area between two tubes. We kept walking for what seemed like an eternity before finally coming to a stop in front of an elevator. The woman pulled us in and the doors closed behind us. She seemed anxious as she spoke up once more.

"If you two know what's good for you, you'll be sure to never return here! Trust me, it would be the worst mistake of your lives." Her eyes seemed to glaze over with unshed tears for a moment before her look quickly became hard and distant.

"You know something don't you? What is that creep doing?" Naruto glared at her.

"I'm just trying to help you, ok? The less you know the better."

She grabbed a hold of a handle and pressed a blue button next to her. Naruto and I were sucked into a black hole while the woman stayed behind, holding onto the handle on the wall. We were quickly teleported to what looked like a cemetery.

"Where are we?" I asked in panic.

"This is the local cemetery," Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Sakura…something terrible is happening back there."

"Yeah, I know...what he said about 'research' really worries me. I don't think he's talking about dissecting frogs, you know what I mean?"

"Agreed. What should we do?"

"More like what _can_ we do?"

"Let's tell the principal. Surely with information like this, something can be done!"

"M'kay" I nodded.

_**Crack!**_

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" I grabbed onto Naruto and he hugged me tightly, glaring into the night

"Doesn't look like anything is here…but just to be safe let's get out of here. I don't think being at a cemetery at night is the best idea in the world." And with that, Naruto used his powers to teleport us to my house.

"H-how did you do that Naruto? You don't even know where I live, do you?" I asked looking up at him.

"I don't know. I just focused on transporting to your house; I didn't know what it looked like, so I just put my hand on your head and bam! Here we are…"

"Oh." I blushed as I suddenly became aware of our embrace.

Noticing my embarrassment, Naruto let go, "Uhm, well uh, I'll s-see you tomorrow then."

"Uh right, um bye."

"Bye." And with that he teleported away.

_**Hm, having a boyfriend with super powers is pretty cool… **_

W-what am I thinking? N-Naruto is _not_ my boyfriend! W-we're just friends!

_**Sure, sure, you say that now, but let's face it: you're in love!**_

I-I'm not in love! Besides, even if I did like him in that way—which I don't—he doesn't feel that way about me. Does he…?

* * *

I teleported into my entryway, my face still hot. I was trying my best to will the redness away**,** but my mother caught me before I could.

"Naruto, sweetie, you're home! I didn't hear you come in. Did you teleport? Oh! Honey, are you _blushing_?"

"I-I'm not blushing mom…" The red only seemed to darken as I quickly and safely teleported myself to my room. Once I was inside, I sat on my bed. I could hear my mom downstairs, yelling "MINATO!" in an excited voice. I was positive the butler was probably listening in on their conversation…

'Wait a minute, the butler! Is it okay for him to know of my powers? Does _he_ have powers? Nah, that's just too weird, right?' I closed my eyes and thought about the recent events.

_**When Sakura threw herself onto me in fear, I couldn't help but hug to her tightly and try to protect her as best as I could. It just felt so right, so…natural to hold her.**_

Oh, what am I thinking? She's just another regular girl.

**But, she isn't **_**just another girl**_** is she? **

* * *

"My, my aren't you generous today Anko-chan." Orochimaru hissed as Anko returned.

"I-I'm not being generous! I was just looking out for you, Orochimaru-sama. If you were to harm Lord Hokage's son it would not end well; your cover would be blown," Anko stated, fear evident in her voice.

"Hm, is that so Anko? Because it seems your loyalties are starting to change, calling that filth of a Hokage Lord. I am the only one you may address as Lord. I am the one with whom your loyalties lie. Do not make me re-break you," he said as he held up a hand. He closed his hand and a mark on Anko's neck began to glow as she fell to the floor withering in pain.

He spoke once more, "Who is your Master?"

"Ngh! Aaah!"

He tightened his hand, "Your. _Master_?"

"Argh! You…you are my Master Lord Orochimaru-sama!"

He opened his hand and she began gasping. "Good, make sure you keep it that way."

Orochimaru opened the door he had emerged from once again and left. Anko sat alone on the floor, her last thoughts before going off in her own direction were, 'He's coming for me, I have to believe it…He's never let me down before, please come for me soon, sensei. Save me from this monster…'

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading and I do hope you review. The next chap will be up in 2 weeks, not next Tusday the other one :) . And Chapter 8 will be longer than this one, I'm hoping it will be significantly longer, but I can assure you it will be even if by a few words still longer than this one :) . Bye!**


	8. A Glimpse Of The Past

**Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! I was so excited about uploading this one I'm so glad it's finally up here :) Next chapter is gonna be another fun one :D **

**Enjoy!**

**R&R**

Chapter 8: A Glimpse Of The Past, Understanding Naruto…

I woke up early and headed to school. Sakura and I had decided to go early today in hopes of speaking to the principal before having to face Orochimaru in Science at 10:00 AM. It was about 7:03 when I arrived; Sakura muttered a quiet hello and the principal was just coming in. I nodded at Sakura and we both approached the principal.

"Excuse me, sir, but we would like to have a word with you," I addressed Principal Sarutobi

"Good morning, Naruto, Sakura-chan. And sure, I don't see why not. Let's take this to my office," Principal Sarutobi began to lead us to his office.

As soon as we entered, he took his seat and motioned for us to sit in the two chairs in front of his desk.

"Um, excuse me, sir, but how did you know my name?" Sakura asked, somewhat nervously, after we took our seats.

"Oh I make a point to memorize all of the students' names, faces, and other important details," he replied.

"Hm, even though there aren't many students in this school, there are still at least one hundred. Memorizing so much information seems difficult," Sakura pressed on as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"Well, I used to memorize all of the residents' information back when I was Hokage, so it really isn't that difficult in comparison," he elaborated, "But back onto the matter-at-hand, you two wanted to tell me something?"

Sakura seemed awestruck. Heck, I don't blame her, the Leaf Village is one big place. I still can't believe my dad knows everyone.

_Hm…I'll have to work on that if I want to become Hokage._

What am I thinking? I gave up on that dream a long time ago. If I were to reach for that, then people really won't treat me for me, but instead as the son of Minato Namikaze. Since he's the Hokage, they can only expect that I will live up to be just as great as him.

_Still, I _want _to be Hokage. I can't help it, I really do…_

But, now was not the time to have an internal debate! I focused my attention back onto Principal Sarutobi, "Last night we were at Wal-Mart and we stumbled upon something…disturbing."

"Care to elaborate?" asked our principal

"Well, we were in a barrel filled with white buttons—"

"What were you doing in a barrel?" Principal Sarutobi interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, what _were_ you doing in that barrel?" Sakura asked.

"I was thinking! But that's not the point! So Sakura and I were in a barrel filled with white buttons and suddenly the bottom of the barrel gave out and we fell through the floor and landed in this creepy dark room with a bunch of giant test tube-like prisons containing strange creatures."

Principal Sarutobi began to look more serious as I continued ,"We heard a scream, followed by what sounded like flesh being ripped apart. After that, out the door came Orochimaru-sensei, covered in blood. He was saying weird things under his breath and he told us to leave unless we wanted to become part of his 'research'."

The principal's eyes widened in surprise, but he let me continue, "A woman with purple hair and brown eyes came in and she took us away from Orochimaru. Once we where out of hearing distance, she told us that if we knew what was good for us, we would stay away from that place. I tried to find out more information, but she just warned us again and then she grabbed onto a handle and pressed a blue button next to her. We were sucked into a black hole while the woman stayed behind. Next thing we knew, we were at the local cemetery."

"We came to tell you because the whole situation seems fishy," Sakura added.

Principal Sarutobi's demeanor changed: he went from shock, anger and suspicion to smiling in a carefree way, "Thank you for your concern, kids, but I'm sure it's nothing dangerous. You were probably overreacting."

I stood up, "No! You can't just let this slip by, I _know_ what I saw!"

"Naruto…" Sakura whispered out of concern, reaching to put a hand on my arm.

"Calm down, Naruto," Sarutobi sighed, "Listen, since you are so concerned about the whole ordeal I'll be sure to look into it."

* * *

"Thank you, Principal Sarutobi." I stood up and tugged on Naruto's arm, "C'mon Naruto, let's go."

He opened his mouth as if to continue to demand more from the principal, but my pleading look seemed to convince him otherwise, as he closed his mouth and followed me out the office. We walked in silence through the now slightly fuller hallways. We came to a stop in front of our classroom and I once again tugged on Naruto's arm—which I hadn't let go of. I took notice of this and I released my grip on him, my face burning, as I spoke.

"It's still 7:45, class doesn't start `till 8:00. Plus, Kakashi-sensei has been arriving between 8:05 to 8:15 everyday."

Naruto looked indifferent as he said, "Hm…I guess we _could_ wander around or something."

Suddenly his face lit up as he snapped his fingers and then proceeded to grab my hand and _run_. We ran through a couple of hallways, earning a good amount of complaints from people we almost ran over.

Finally I spoke up, "Naruto, what are you _doing_?"

"I'm running, what does it look like I'm doing?" he cheerfully said as we ran down a flight of stairs.

I rolled my eyes, "I can _see_ that, but _where_ are we running to?"

"I'm going to take you to a special place called 'The Slug Princess' Garden'!" he enthusiastically announced.

And so, we ran for about 15 minutes. We arrived at a hospital and Naruto began to run around it. We ran all the way to the end of the parking lot behind the building and came to a stop on front of a pile of junk. Just as I was about to ask Naruto why we were stopping here, he entered the pile, which rippled like water when he went through it. His arm came back out, causing another round of ripples. I took hold of his hand and he pulled me in. Once inside, I could tell we were no longer in the hospital parking lot; in front of us stood a beautiful valley—like the kind that only existed in fairy tales.

"N-Naruto...it's…gorgeous! A-Amazing…I-I…I'm speechless…" I stuttered, my breath taken away by the scene before me.

"I couldn't agree more. The two days I was absent from school I spent wandering around the village and, at some point, I found this place."

He motioned with his arms the beauty around us, "My mother used to tell me bedtime stories about the 'Slug Princess' Garden'. She described it just like this place—to the last detail. So I can only believe that _this_ is the garden from the stories."

"Wow." I was truly awestruck.

"Care to explore?" Naruto asked, extending his arm.

I nodded and hooked my arm in his…

_Isn't this romantic? Walking arm-in-arm like a _real _couple..._

Yeah…wait! No, absolutely not! Naruto is just my _friend!_ A friend and nothing else!

_But he brought us to this beautiful place filled with flowers and streams and marvelous things…he _must _love us._

Yeah right! I'm not even sure if he really considers me a friend. After all, he never did _say_ we were friends, just that I was right when I confronted him about disappearing after I told him off…

We walked for what seemed like forever—lost in this magical land...

Until I saw my watch.

I gasped, "Oh no! Naruto look at the time! It's 8:16, even Kakashi-sensei has arrived by now! What are we going to do? It took 15 minutes to _get_ here!"

"Well you said so yourself, even sensei is in class by now. So I could just teleport us to the hallway. After all, everyone should be in class by now," he said matter-of-factly.

He grabbed me by the waist, pulling me close and closing his eyes in concentration. I blushed the entire time, which, for me, felt like hours. In reality, it was really only seconds before we found ourselves in the empty hallway. We quickly entered the classroom, only to find Kakashi-sensei wasn't even there…

We took our seats and as soon as the clock above the board read 8:17, Kakashi-sensei burst through the door muttering apologies.

I sweat dropped, 'talk about making it in with a minute to spare! This is unbelievable though, he just broke his late record by two minutes…'

"Ah I see you're back, Mr. Uzumaki, good to have you here with us again. Ms. Haruno, could you please bring Uzumaki-san up to date on _everything_ he missed?" Kakashi-sensei said before turning to write on the board.

"I'll be sure to do that, Sensei" I replied as I began to take out my notebook.

* * *

And so, Sakura filled me in on _everything_:_ both_ on regular lessons and on SATF lessons, which, coincidentally, we had today since they were giving us tomorrow off for the Button Festival. During today's lesson, we practiced some martial art moves from the last lesson and learned some new ones. `Course, since I was absent yesterday, to me they're all new.

Sakura and I were passing by the fabric section when an idea came to me.

"Hey Sakura-chan, how `bout we investigate? If we keep quiet and hide, Orochimaru might not hear us and we can find out more on the situation."

"Good idea," Sakura said as she walked over to a barrel.

"What are you doing?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and putting my hands on my hips.

"I'm getting in the barrel, this is how we got there last time," She entered the barrel.

"Good point," I entered as well.

I spoke up after a while of sitting, "What if we end up sitting here all night?"

As soon as the words left my mouth, as if to prove me wrong once again, we fell through the floor like we had before, landing in the familiar dim room. We got up and begin to walk around. I inspected the tubes and Sakura look through the books and some notes Orochimaru left laying around. I was starting to wonder if this was a good idea. I felt so creepy here.

"Naruto, come here. Look at this," Sakura whispered urgently.

I quietly ran over to where she was, "What is it?"

"He's running experiments to create some sort of drug to increase power…"

Suddenly, I heard the door begin to creak open and I grabbed Sakura and hid behind some test tubes. Out came Orochimaru. He looked around, and was about to leave when he noticed a paper laying on the floor. He picked it up and began to search the room. His eyes widened as they made contact with Sakura, who was staring straight at him with a similar look. He flicked his tongue like a snake, narrowing his eyes. Sakura gasped, and I hugged her close and teleported to Wal-Mart's parking lot.

"Are you OK, Sakura-chan?" I asked, concerned.

"I-I'm fine, just startled that's all," she continued "But maybe that wasn't such a good idea, Naruto. I mean, he _saw_ us. What if he comes after us or—?"

I cut her short, "Don't worry Sakura-chan; I'm sure we have nothing to worry about."

"But we don't know that for sure! He could—"

I cut her off once more, "Honestly, Sakura, relax. If he really _does_ choose to do something, I'll protect you, so don't worry about it okay?"

She was hesitant so I quickly changed the subject, "Um, so hey, are you, uh, gonna go to the Button Festival tomorrow?"

She hesitated before answering, "Yes, I am."

"Are you g-going with anyone in particular?"

She gave me an amused look, "No, not really. Why?"

I nervously rubbed my neck, "Well, you see I, uh, was wondering if you would like to, um, go with…me?"

"Sure, I'd love to! I'll meet you at the festival at 7:00 PM."

She got on her bike. I nodded, "O-OK…"

"See you tomorrow, then!" And with that, she rode off.

"…Bye"

_Smooth…_real _smooth. She'll totally want to kiss you with _this _strategy, Namikaze…_

What am I saying? Even if I do suck at this, I'm not expecting anything from it…She doesn't feel _that_ way.

* * *

I rode home, put my bike away, and ran up to my room.

_He likes me! He really likes me!_

'No, this is just `cause I come from a place that celebrates it and he doesn't want to be lost…'

_Or maybe it's a _date_!_

'But it probably doesn't mean anything! Get a grip, Sakura.'

I sighed…'Oh well, might as well pick out an outfit for tomorrow.'

* * *

It was 7:01 PM when Naruto and Sakura met up, both staring at each other.

'She's so beautiful,' Naruto thought as he looked at her faded denim skinny jeans, red halter blouse, and black sandals.

"You look great," he said after taking her in.

"You look pretty good yourself," she replied, even though her thoughts said otherwise. 'Pretty good? More like amazing! Who knew casual could look so good?'

Naruto was wearing an orange T-shirt, black jeans, and black and white Converses. They walked side by side through the festival.

"Attention, everyone! Please gather around the center of the park and locate yourselves in front of the platform. Since, unfortunately, we do not have enough chairs for everyone, please give the seats to pregnant women, children, and the elderly. The Hokage will begin his announcement in three minutes, so please gather around, soon," an announcer bellowed through a speakerphone.

"Well, we better head over there," said Sakura as she began to walk toward the center of the park.

Naruto didn't move, pulling on her arm, "No! Uh…w-we don't _have_ to go over there! It's always so _crowded!_ I know a great spot near a fountain where we could hear the whole thing perfectly."

"But I have never even _seen_ the Hokage before…" Sakura complained.

"Don't worry, you'll get to see him in the future. After all, he's one of the five Kages, and unlike presidents, the Kages rule until they're 60. Unless, for some reason, they need to be removed," Naruto tugged on her hand once more.

'I wonder why Naruto doesn't want me to see the Hokage?' Sakura sighed, "Fine, I've never been fond of crowds anyways…"

Naruto and Sakura sat on the edge of the fountain as the announcer spoke once more, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Lord Hokage the Fourth."

The Hokage's warm voice filled the air, "Thank you, Yoshida-san. As you all know, today we were to enjoy the new festival, that originated in the Land of Iron, known as The Button Festival. Unfortunately, due to some problems, the festival has been delayed until June 13th. In order to apologize for the delay, we ask you to enjoy a Spring Festival today instead. My personal apologies, and have a great time."

'June 13th…' Naruto reflected.

"Hey! C'mon, it might not be The Button Festival, but it's still _a _festival. Let's have some fun!" Sakura enthusiastically said as she began to run toward a booth.

Naruto smiled as he got up and followed, 'Yes, let's go. After all, with you, I'd go anywhere…'

* * *

Minato Namikaze looked out into the dispersing crowd. Once again, Naruto failed to be around. The Hokage sighed, 'When will Naruto stop fearing people knowing the truth?'

Minato thought back to how this all started: When Naruto entered elementary school, kids started to treat him differently. Some kids would treat him like a king, and others would treat him like dirt. The cause of both behaviors was the same: he was the Fourth Hokage's son. The ones who where nice were looking for benefit for their parents, and those who were mean thought Naruto looked down on them even though he did not. Naruto didn't have any _real_ friends as a child. Plenty of real enemies? Sure. But real friends? No.

So when the time came for him to enter middle school, he decided he wanted to go to a _public_ school and that he wanted to go by his mother's maiden name. He asked that a rumor be started that the Hokage's son, Naruto, was studying abroad. After making this decision, he still had a hard time making _any_ friends…

Just how long would it be until Naruto chose to be a Namikaze again?

* * *

As the festival came to an end, Naruto and Sakura walked side by side through the park

"I better get going, it's getting late," Sakura shifted her feet nervously.

"I'll walk you home. Like you said, it's late. I wouldn't want you walking around alone," Naruto passed by her and the back of their hands brushed against one another, causing electricity to rage through both of them. The pair walked in a comfortable silence, both enjoying the moment and scolding themselves for thinking of the other in a romantic way while trying to convince themselves there was nothing between them.

As they approached Sakura's house. she spoke up, "I can see my house from here; it's only a few houses away, so I think I can handle going the rest of the way alone."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I had a lot of fun."

"Yeah me, too," Naruto rubbed his neck nervously.

Both stood, uncomfortable and unsure of what to say or do next. They looked up at each other and laughed nervously before sharing an awkward hug, each pulling away a little unwillingly. They went their separate ways, unaware of the dark figure roaming around them, watching and waiting.

Naruto turned and walked away slowly while Sakura rushed toward her house. As soon as Naruto turned the corner a hand clasped over Sakura's mouth, and another took hold of her wrists. She struggled to break free, but two men arrived and began to aid the initial attacker. They tied her, gagged her, and threw her into the back of a black van.

Naruto felt a strange sensation that something was wrong, so he returned to Sakura's street, only to find it was empty—except for a black van driving away. From the windows it had on the back he could have sworn he saw something _pink_…

Could it be? Nah, he was just overreacting…

Or was he?

**R&R**

**Author's Note: Well there it is. Did you like it? I'll be uploading Chapter 9 on July 27.**


	9. Too Dangerous

**Author's Note: I am so so so SORRY this is late. Please don't hate me! I wanted to upload this on time, but my internet wasn't working and Liberty isn't going to send a technitian to check it out until August 6 maybe later! The only reason this chapter is up is because I drove to my uncle's house in order to upload it. So unfortunately I won't be able to get Chapter 10 up until at least August 15 and that's only assuming that Liberty will send a technitian that will solve the problem on the same day. So I hope you will find mercy in your hearts and be patient. I promise to try my very best to get as much as I can done, but in order to send the Chapter to my beta I need internet so I'll need a couple of days after I get my internet back before being able to upload chapter 10. Please subscribe to story alert or check on August 15 to see if Chapter 10 is up (Because I'll try to have it up by then). Thank you for understanding and please enjoy Chapter 9.**

****

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO. This was made purely for entertainment and I am gaining no monetary profit from it.

* * *

Chapter 9: Too Dangerous

I woke up from one of the best nights of sleep I've ever had, even though I went to bed late and awoke early.

_**'That's because dreaming of Sakura can make anyone feel refreshed'**_

I mean, I guess I'm just excited to go to school.

_**'Yeah **_**real **_**believable'**_

* * *

I felt slightly disappointed when Sakura failed to at arrive at both school and SATF, but I dismissed it as nothing. That is, until I arrived home…

"Son, come here for a second. Jiraiya and I have some questions we'd like to ask you," my father called from the dining room.

I sat at the table, opposite Jiraiya and my father, "What's up?"

"When was the last time you saw Sakura?" Jiraiya asked in a serious voice.

"Last night. After the festival, I offered to walk her home since it was late and I left her on her street just a few houses away from her home because she didn't want to be walked to the door. Why? Did something happen to her?" I asked, my voice filled with worry.

My father spoke this time, "Son, she…she never returned home last night and she won't pick up her cell phone…" He sighed, "We don't know for sure, though. She might have run away, or she could have been kidnapped. We won't know until we look into it more. Do you know anyone that would have any reason to want her gone?"

"No, I uh…" I shook my head, my eyes wide. I thought back to everything: Orochimaru, Sarutobi, the black van… "That's it!" I said aloud as I looked at them. It all makes sense now! Last night, I had a bad feeling so I turned back to check on Sakura and there was no one around. But, I did see a van driving away, and I could have sworn that I saw something pink in it. It must have been her! That Snake, he took her; he kidnapped her! We have to get her back before it's too late!"

"Snake? What are you talking about? Calm down and tell us what exactly you think is going on! So you said you saw a van drive away and you saw something pink?" my father repeated my previous statement, waiting for me to share further information.

"Yes. You see, we accidentally came across Orochimaru's hideout—or whatever—and we told Sarutobi, but he took it lightly. So, we took the matter into our own hands, but then Orochimaru saw us and he looked at Sakura all weird and stuff. I just _know_ he's the one who took her!" I tried to explain in the calmest way possible due to the current situation.

My father raised a brow, "Are you saying you were snooping around Orochimaru's place?"

I rubbed the back of my neck the way I always do when I'm nervous, "Well, uh, I um...well yeah, but…but that's no excuse for him to hurt either one of us!"

"Hm...we're going to talk about this later. I'll try to get a search warrant, so we'll just have to keep looking for more evidence in the meantime."

I slammed my fist on the table, "That's not enough! You don't get it! This guy isn't normal!" I stood up, "This research of his, it's not normal! He's _killing_ people, I just _know_ it! I _heard_ the screams; I _saw_ him covered in blood."

They looked at each other with expressions that I couldn't quite make out. Worry? Anger? Fear? It only lasted a second before they both put on their poker faces.

My father spoke with finality in his voice, "We have no solid proof. I'll be sure to look into it, though. You're still in trouble for what you did, Naruto. Invasion of property is _illegal. _You're lucky this guy is a possible felon. Your room. NOW."

I couldn't argue with my dad when he spoke to me with _that_ voice, "Yes sir." I lowered my head and walked up to my room.

* * *

I was awoken abruptly when a bucket of ice cold water was thrown on me. I lifted my head from where I was laying in the corner of the van, the spot where they had left me the night before. The two men grabbed ahold of me and pressed another one of those strange buttons. We where automatically transported to the eerily dim room where Naruto and I had encountered Orochimaru before…

The men opened the door from which Orochimaru always exited and deposited me on top of what looked to be an autopsy table. My eyes widened in fear as I struggled to break free. The two men left and Orochimaru himself came in.

He spoke with a sickening voice, "My, my! If it isn't the curious mouse I stumbled upon the other day after I told her not to return unless she desired to become part of my research." He began to walk around me, "Well, you were snooping around here two days ago, so I take it you want to participate in my experiment."

"Mffmrrgh!" I continued to struggle.

"If you keep that up, you'll fall off the table. Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to you…yet," he said as he placed a hand on my arm. The feel of his skin on mine caused me to shiver in horror.

"Now listen carefully. I'm going to untie you and I'm going to lock you in this room," he told me while pointing at a map on the wall, "You're here, right now. Once you're in the other room, I'm going to let 15 snakes free in that room. But, they aren't _normal_ snakes. They are my own special mutated snakes. There are two types, and they both look identical to the human eye. Out of all those snakes 14 will be harmless and one will be venomous."

He put his hand on my cheek and began to rub it. "Both the harmless and venomous snakes' bites are extremely painful, and both will give you the same side effects. If you make an antidote from the venomous one, it can get rid you of the effects of the harmless ones."

Saying I was terrified was an understatement! In fact, I wasn't feeling like this just because of the horrifying things that were coming out of his mouth, but also because of his actions. Was he going to have his way with me before letting the snakes torture me? I just wished that he'd _stop_ touching me! Even if he's only rubbing my cheek, it was like acid on my skin.

"If you don't get rid of the venom in your system, the effects will stay for four days; after those four days, they'll go away on their own. Also, in the case of the venomous one: if you don't get the antidote in four days, you'll _die_. Thank you for being my test subject, my pretty."

* * *

Sakura has been missing for three days. I haven't even been able to look for her because my dad has Jiraiya-sensei walk me to and from school every day. I can't take it anymore; I have to look for Sakura. As soon as the gym teacher let us out, I ran and locked myself in a bathroom stall and teleported to the fabric section at Wal-Mart.

And there was Jiraya, my dad, and some ANBU—which was our version of, I don't know, SWAT, I guess…

"We thought you would come here to try to help your teammate. So, tell us, Uzumaki-san, how did you get to where Orochimaru was running his experiments?" my father asked as he kept up the charade I had asked him to keep. We were not father and son. Right now, we were Hokage and some random kid mixed up in all of this.

"Well, the trigger is somewhere in this barrel of buttons," I explained, pointing at the barrel with the white buttons.

The few ANBU moved the barrel, and underneath was a hole. They nodded their heads and leaped into the hole single file, followed by my father, Jiraiya and me. We landed in the familiar room and I ran toward the door Orochimaru/the Snake would always exit. The others quickly followed, warning me to be more careful. I swung the door open and was met with a large metal table. To the left was a flat screen, which suddenly turned on. By now, everyone was inside as the message began to play on the television.

The Snake's face showed up on the screen, "If you're seeing this, then I'm long gone by now. And yes, everything you suspected is true; under this television is a compartment with a file on some the crimes I've committed. Go ahead, take it, you'll never catch me anyways."

The screen went black, before suddenly turning back on, "Oh, and about that pink-haired girl, this was recorded the morning after her kidnapping. I have locked her in a room with 15 mutated snakes."

He smirked, "Out of those 15, 14 are harmless and one is lethal. They all look alike. If the lethal one bites her, she'll have four days to live before the poison kills her…unless you create an antidote from the lethal snake's venom. Also set to activate after this message is a timer, you'll have seven minutes to find her before I release a toxic poison into the air of the room she's in, killing her within a matter of seconds. She can give you all the details. That is, if you can find her in time. Here, enjoy this live feed I've set up."

His image was replaced with that of Sakura's—covered in sweat as she trembled and screamed in pain while the snakes bit her. My eyes widened in horror. How could he do this to her? I quickly began to search through the tubes, looking for other doors. All the while I could hear her screams and see the timer ticking away on each and every wall…

6:04

6:03

6:02

I continued to search through the doors.

6:00

5:59

5:58

Empty.

5:56

Empty.

5:54

_Empty_…Darn it! Where _is_ she?

5:51

5:50

5:49

Huh? Wait! There was someone behind the last door I opened.

"Hey! ANBU guys, Lord Hokage! I found someone here!" I called out.

There before me, arms and legs tied, was the woman with the purple hair. The ANBU quickly showed up, followed by Pervy-sensei and my dad.

One of the ANBU spoke up, "Her name is Anko Mitarashi, age 27. There's evidence that she committed various crimes and aided in committing others. What should we do Hokage-sama?"

My father stepped forward and as soon as the woman saw him her eyes watered. My dad crouched down and was now at the same level as the woman. He began to talk, "Now? We let her go. I know her and I know she wouldn't do this without a reason. Isn't that right, Anko?"

She nodded, her voice cracking a few times as she spoke, "Mhm. Yes, Minato-sensei. He forced me…"

"But, Hokage-sama, we can't just let her go like—" an ANBU began, but was interrupted by my father.

"I didn't mean let her go in that sense. I meant let's untie her."

The ANBU muttered a low 'Oh…' and they proceeded to untie her. Once untied, she stood up, wiping the wet moisture from her eyes. The only sound that could be heard was Sakura's screaming. I looked at the wall: 2:34!

"We're wasting too much time!" I said aloud, voicing my thoughts.

My father spoke once more, "He's right. Anko, do you know where we could find Sakura Haruno? She has pink hair and green eyes."

"Yes I do, but," she sighed looking at her feet, "It's far from here even if we run it'll take us too long. I'm not entirely sure if we can make it in time. We could still try, though."

And with that, we began following her while she ran in the direction of the room where Sakura was being held hostage. The walls brought more and more desperation every time I dared take a peek:

2:03

…

1:40

…

1:16

…

0:59

Darn it! Just how _far_ is this room?

0:55

…

0:32

Can we really trust her? What if she's just making us waste our time?

0:30

…

…

…

…

0:17

How much _longer_?

As if answering my silent question, the woman spoke up, "It's the last door at the end of this hall, on the right wall."

As soon as she finished her sentence, I dashed ahead of the others. My only goal at the moment was to reach the last door on the right.

0:14

…

0:11

Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I swung the door open and ran over to Sakura, lifting her into my arms. I ran out, slamming the door behind me. I sped all the way back up the hallway and didn't stop until I passed the turn just as the clock reached 0:00.

"Ahg!" I cried in agony as a snake bit me. Its teeth had punctured Sakura's flesh when I took her from the infested room, and I had been in too much of a rush to care. A few others will still wriggling on her. Thankfully, an ANBU quickly came over and rid us of the snakes.

"Are you OK?" my dad asked, his eyes filled with worry as he looked at the bite.

"I'm fine," I turned to Sakura, "Are you OK, Sakura-chan?"

She began to speak in between gasps, "Unhn, th-the s-sna-a-kes are..." She didn't even finish the sentence, instead, losing consciousness.

* * *

I opened my eyes…

All I could see was white and I felt a sense of relief. After all those days of agonizing, it felt so good to be pain-free once more. Hmm, an IV drip, a white wall, a door, Naruto, a window…

Wait! Back up. Naruto? I suddenly remembered the earlier events in Orochimaru's hideout.

I lifted myself into a sitting position and Naruto's face lit up as he ran to my side, "Sakura-chan! You're awake!"

"Naruto-kun!" I said in the spur of the moment, but quickly rephrased my words, "I mean, um…thank you for saving me, Naruto. I knew you would find me!"

"Heh, it was no big deal," he said sheepishly, rubbing his neck. I noticed he does this often, must be a habit or something…

_**'A really cute habit, though'**_

Argh. _No!_ I have to focus! I gasped, "Naruto, you were bitten! Are you OK?

"Yes, I'm fine. Neither one of us was bitten by the poisonous one. Besides, the woman with the purple hair said that it takes multiple bites from the harmless one in order to get the symptoms you had, so I'm good," he smiled and gave me a thumbs up.

The door opened and in came Jiraiya-sensei. He came up to me and spoke, "Ah, I see you're awake Sakura. I'm glad you're OK, but there's something I need to tell you."

I raised a brow, "What is it?"

"What happened with Orochimaru is just the beginning…until your powers emerge, it's not safe for you to be involved with us. So, we're eliminating you from the classes until further notice. You can no longer be in the SATF as it's too dangerous. Good bye, Sakura."

And, with that, he put his hand on my head and the world went black…

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope to see you all as soon as possible! Fingers crossed I get my internet back soon!**

**It's been gone for 3 days SO frustrating! :'(**

****

Oh! And review please! It means a lot to me and when I finally get steady internet again and can check my e-mail I'll be sure to read them =] (Also I'm planning on visiting my friend's house on either Friday or Saturday so I may be able to read them rather sooner than later. Hoo ray for friends with wireless =] )

Reviews mean a lot to me. Especially to know if you liked it and what you liked best, what you disliked in the chapter. To know how can improve it to make it better.


	10. Remember Me

**Author's Note: OMG we reached chapter 10! That is a huge number for me seeing as my last fanfic was only 8 chapters long. Also I just wanted to say thanks for the bunny to Asa because her cute little bunny really **_**did**_** motivate me to work on the Chapter hahaha. Well…ENJOY :p**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

* * *

Chapter 10: Remember Me

I walked into the classroom and took my seat; today was the first day in which Sakura would return to school after being released from the hospital. I haven't seen her since Pervy Sensei erased her memories…

"_Wh-what did you do to her?" I asked after seeing Sakura pass out._

"_I meant what I said Naruto. She can no longer be with us…not until she has her powers. If she continues to be here, she may encounter even stronger and more dangerous enemies than just Orochimaru. Sure she'll be in danger without us, but we can protect her from the shadows. She doesn't need to see us to be safe," Jiraiya stated calmly_

_I glared at him, "So that's it? We're just going to kick her out? Do you really think Sakura will sit back and let you kick her out like this?" _

_He returned my angry stare, raising his voice, "Of course I know that! She's too thick-headed to just let us abandon her. That's why…why I erased her memories. She won't remember anything about me except that I'm her teacher and the same goes for Orochimaru. She'll remember everything that doesn't have to do with SATF." _

_He lowered his voice and took on a more compassionate tone, "And to avoid pain, I made sure she doesn't remember ever speaking to you, she merely knows that you sit next to her in class."_

_I shook my head, "No…no you can't just do that! To avoid pain? To _avoid _pain? You're_ _not avoiding any form of pain by doing something like that! No! I won't accept this! She'll remember me. She...she has to!" And with that I ran off, leaving Jiraiya and the hospital behind._

I shifted in my seat, the memory still vivid and painful. I glanced over as Sakura arrived, taking her seat next to me.

'She has to remember me, she just _has to,_' I thought before turning to Sakura, "Good morning."

She didn't even bother looking up from her book bag as she searched for her notebook, "Hm? Oh, good morning."

"So how are you feeling, Sakura-chan?"

"Fine. Why do you ask? Uzumaki, right?" She had finally looked up at me there was this distance between us, her green eyes barely showing any trace of genuine interest in me or anything I might have to say.

I gave her a worried smile, "You don't have to call me by my last name, Sakura-chan. I mean, were are friends after all."

"I'm sorry but I have no idea what you're talking about Uzumaki-san. This is the first time we've ever spoken."

Furrowing her brow, she tilted her head awaiting my answer. Before I could respond, Uchiha entered the class room. Instantly, she turned around and perked up.

"Sasuke-kun! Good morning! How are you on this beautiful day?" she seemed to be in a daze, her whole face lit up, her eyes were shining and she was twirling a strand of pink hair between her fingers.

'_As she did this it almost seemed mesmerizing the way she seemed to perfectly twirl her soft hair, hair that made me wonder if it would really feel like silk on my finger tips…' _

No! I can't be thinking like that…but most importantly even though I must admit she looks angelic, it hurts to know that her smile brightness and shines with an incredible intensity, that used to be _my_ smile. _Mine_. And now she's giving it to that stupid guy.

Anger and another emotion that I couldn't quite place my name on coursed through me. I glared at the Uchiha. My hands were balled up in fists at my sides. I was trembling '_Why_? Why did this have to happen?'

* * *

Sakura smiled, taking her eyes off Sasuke and turning to look at Naruto. The blonde's eyes were full of fury in as he glared at Sasuke.

'What's his problem?' Sakura wondered. She shrugged, pushing her concern away. Oh well, not that I care anyway.'

Kakashi arrived much too soon for Sakura's taste, putting an end to her 'Sasuke-kun Admiring Time'.

Soon enough, lunch came and Sakura quickly ran to the empty table where Sasuke was eating. She smiled, "Hi Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke merely lifted a brow; he was confused at Sakura's sudden turn to fan girl. He simply shrugged it off, not caring one way or another. Ino and her gang entered the cafeteria and spotted Sakura at Sasuke's table. Ino recalled warning Sakura, and what was Forehead doing? She strut right into Sasuke's life, ignoring Ino's words.

'How dare she!' Ino was livid. She, along with her followers, headed over to Sasuke's table to take what they thought was rightfully 'theirs'.

"Hey, Forehead! I thought I told you to stay _away_ from Sasuke-kun!" Ino yelled as she slammed her hand on the table.

Sakura snorted, "And what makes you think you have any right to tell me what to do, Ino-pig?"

Ino glared at her, "Shut up you piece of worthless trash! You're a pathetic excuse for a Sasuke fan girl. No, you're a pathetic excuse for a _woman_ in general! So why don't you get your butt out of the chair before I smack some sense into you?"

"Me? A pathetic excuse for a woman?" Sakura crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm sorry Ino, sweetheart, I think you hit your head because I'm pretty sure you are the pathetic one here. So why don't _you_ just walk away, along with your little group of airhead followers, PIG?"

Ino scoffed and huffed in irritation as words left her. Out of irritation, she began to walk away with her girls, but not before Karin remarked, "You'll pay for messing with us, nerd."

Sakura sighed, "Finally! I thought they would never leave."

While this was happening, a very important meeting was being held in the Principal's office…

"So we're clear then? Jiraiya, you'll teach Hyuuga Neji and Yakushi Kabuto, Anko will continue to teach Kaguya Kimimaro and Sohma Tayuya, and Kakashi you will take on Uchiha Sasuke." Principal Sarutobi reviewed what had discussed.

Kakashi, Jiraya, and Anko all nodded. The latter spoke, "This is the best layout. We know that Kaguya Kimimaro and Sohma Tayuya are working with Orochimaru, although we have no solid proof. I also think that Yakushi Kabuto is a bit suspicious, but Sasuke Uchiha isn't with him and therefore there's still hope the boy has not been corrupted."

Jiraiya crossed his arms, "Sasuke is jealous of his older brother. He wants his brother to feel the shame and frustration that comes with living in the shadow of a sibling. He wants to crush Itachi and prove himself to his father so badly that he would do _anything_ to achieve his goal."

"Yes, during our training sessions I noticed that. I also realized how Orochimaru was beginning to take interest in him. The problem, and biggest danger here, is just how _much_ interest he's taken in the boy. If he's _too_ interested, then there's no hope: he _will_ have him. When Orochimaru wants something he gets it." Anko informed them.

Once a few more things were discussed Kakashi, Jiraya and Anko left the room leaving Sarutobi alone to think about his former student Orochimaru and how far he's fallen.

The day for Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura was uneventful until the time for SATF lessons came around, and neither Naruto nor Sasuke liked what they saw.

"Who's this?" Naruto anxiously questioned Kakashi.

"Since Orochimaru-sensei has been categorized as a villain and is on the run, we've distributed his students between Anko, Jiraya and myself. So from now on, you two will be training together under my guidance," Kakashi stated while both ignoring and answering Naruto's question. The tall man clapped his hands, addressing his two pupils, "Okay! Now boys, turn around and face each other and let's practice by applying what you know in a fight."

'Just great! Out of all the people in the Snake's group, I _had_ to get the guy Sakura keeps drooling all over,' Naruto bitterly thought as he turned around.

Kakashi looked at the sight before him and, although Naruto had turned around, Sasuke had silently refused to do the same.

Kakashi sighed, "Sasuke?"

Nothing.

"Um, excuse me, Sasuke. Could you please turn around so we can get this over with?"

…

Naruto scoffed, "Forget it Kakashi-sensei! If he's too chicken to face me, then we shouldn't force him."

"Hah!" Sasuke turned around, "Like a dobe like you could beat me!"

"What did you call me?" Naruto roared in anger.

Sasuke smirked, "Hn. You heard me, or are you hearing impaired as well as mentally impaired?"

The Uchiha's words caused Naruto to charge forward with his fist pulled back. Sasuke merely dodged the intended blow. Naruto responded with a barrage of punches, all of which Sasuke dodged.

Naruto kicked; Sasuke dodged.

Naruto punched; Sasuke dodged.

This went on for some time. It came to a point where Kakashi even sat down and began to read Icha Icha. Just when Kakashi was about to end it (end what? His book or the fight?) Sasuke got tired of dodging and decided to attack. He began to mercilessly punch and kick Naruto. After a good while of Naruto being beaten like a training dummy, Kakashi put an end to the fight.

While all of this was going on, Sakura was studying at a public library. She was sitting in a nice desolate area. Suddenly, Ino and her groupies approached. Tayuya used her powers to put up a sound barrier, unbeknownst to anyone, so they wouldn't attract unwanted attention.

They walked up to Sakura, and Kin grabbed her by her hair. Sakura struggled as Karin crept behind her with a knife and whispered into Sakura's ear, "I told you, you'd pay for messing with us, nerd."

Ino came up to Sakura and slapped her, "That's for insulting me." She pulled her fist back, "And this is for Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura closed her eyes in fear and anticipation. In that instant, she seemed to disappear as Ino's fist hit an invisible wall a few inches from Sakura's face.

"Wh-what's going on?" Ino stuttered.

Taking advantage of the situation Sakura took a hold of Karin's knife, cut her hair and made a run for it. She ran all the way to Wal-Mart and suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and let out a startled scream and was once again visible and as she turned around she came face to face with Jiraiya.

* * *

I sighed as I arrived home to find Jiraiya at my dinner table. Or, rather, my family's dinner table.

"Oh, hello, Naruto! I was hoping you'd get here soon. Man, you're in pretty bad shape," Jiraya said as I sat down in front of him.

I took my seat, "Yeah, yeah. Don't rub it in."

Jiraya leaned forward, "Listen up! Sakura's powers have broken the seal. She's back in the SATF!"

I smiled from ear to ear, as relief pored down on me, things were finally looking up, "That's great! Now she can finally remember me! And she'll stop chasing that stupid Sasuke around and thing will go back to normal again."

"Um…I'm sorry kid. I hate to burst your bubble, but it just doesn't work that way."

My face fell, "What do you mean? What are you trying to say?"

He sighed and looked straight into my eyes, his tone deadly serious, "She won't remember you…_ever_."

* * *

**Author's Note: Woo hoo! And an awesome cliffy for all hahaha. And if you're a bit confused on the whole Sakura thing with the hair cutting, the powers and Jiraya, relax `cuz I'll explain it in detail in the next chapie =) **

**Unfortunetly this week I have a math test on the History of Geometry, a History test on the Geogrophy of the US and a Chesmetrty test which involves memorizing a very long list of vocabulary words. So by the time I'm done I'll only have like 3% of my brain cells left, therefore the next chap might be late but if it all works out and I find time to write in between studying then it should be up on August 31 and if it's late September 5th****. Bye bye! Reviews are welcomed, appreciated and very motivating!**


	11. Transcend The Impossible

**R_&_R**

Chapter 11: Sometimes Love Can Transcend The Impossible

I sighed, staring at Sakura from afar. 'Okay you can do this. Just remember what Pervy Sage said.'

I thought back to what Jiraiya had said to me after announcing the fact that Sakura would never remember me.

_Panic and denial rushed through me._ _"What do you mean she won't remember me? N-no! You…you don't understand! She, she can't just _forget _me! I-I lov-loath the thought of losing her friendship and now she's Sasuke's…"_

_I chose my words carefully, "Best friend…yeah, his best friend and she used to be _my _best friend. She didn't have any feelings of, um, friendship for him before a-and now she's treating _him _like she used to treat _me_!"_

_I shook my head, my eyes filled with tears, but I, of course, was not about to let myself cry in front of _Pervy-sensei_._

"_Well she may not be able to remember you, but sometimes feelings of friendship and _love_," he had a suggestive tone upon saying the 'L' word, "can be so strong that they can transcend the impossible. What's happening now is how Sakura would act if she had never met you."_

_He leaned forward, "Which means that even _before _she forgot you, she had feelings for Sasuke. But, her feelings of 'friendship' for you were stronger. Therefore, in theory, if you re-establish your 'friendship', the bond will become as strong as before and Sasuke will become a memory of the past."_

"_You lost me with the whole theory thing," I said as I looked at him._

_He heaved an exasperated sigh, "If you try to get to know her again she'll ignore Sasuke and be with you, but it will take a lot of determination and persistence."_

"_Oh." _

_At that moment my mom entered the dining room, her eyes widened, "Oh my! Naruto. sweetie, what happened?"_

"_Relax, mom, I'm fine. At training, my new teammate was a little more experienced than me so I ended up getting hurt…" _

_My mother and Jiraiya gave me 'Are serious?' looks._

_I sighed, "Okay, okay, so I got really hurt and he's really good, but I'm telling you I'm gonna get stronger and make it more challenging for him to win."_

And so here I am now: staring at Sakura, deciding whether or not to go up and talk to her. With my mind finally made up I take a calming break and walk up to her.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan."

She turned around, "Oh, it's you again."

I rubbed the back of my neck, "Um, yeah…s-so I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go see a movie…with me?"

* * *

'_Well…he _is _pretty cute.'_

'NO WAY! What about Sasuke-kun? If he finds out, he'll _never_ go out with me!'

'_Aww, c'mon! Thinking this through...what do I have to lose?'_

I put on a serious face, "You mean…like a _date_?"

His face reddened and he started talking really fast, "Well, um, no, not like a date. What I mean to say is, uh, as _friends_…Unless you _want_ it to be a date. What am I saying? _Of_ _course_ you don't want it to be a date and…"

I giggled, he was just too darn cute when he got all nervous like that. Guess he took my giggling the wrong way because, in a dejected demeanor, he turned and walked away, "I'll take that as a no…"

"Uzumaki?" I called after him.

"Hm?"

"Okay."

"Huh?"

"I'll go to the movies with you. I'll see you at the movie theater at about…7:30?"

He looked completely taken aback, "Uhm, okay. See you then."

I turn around and start walking away, "Mhm." I smile to myself as I yell back, "It's a _date_!"

I made my way to a nice tree and sat under its shade. I could just picture him exploding with joy. I closed my eyes, thinking back to the events that happened recently…

_I sighed, "Guess I better review what we studied in class today." _

_I began to read the material I had written in my notebook: _

Temporal coordinate systems and clock synchronization:

In Relativity, temporal coordinate systems are set up using a procedure for synchronizing clocks, discussed by Poincaré (1900) in relation to Lorentz's local time. It is now usually called the Einstein synchronization procedure, since it appeared in his 1905 paper.

An observer with a clock sends a light signal out at time t1 according to his clock. At a distant event, that light signal is reflected back to, and arrives back to the observer at time t2 according to his clock. Since the light travels the same path at the same rate going both out and back for the observer in this scenario, the coordinate time of the event of the light signal being reflected for the observer tE is tE = (t1 + t2) / 2. In this way, a single observer's clock can be used to define temporal coordinates which are good anywhere in the universe.

Symmetric time dilation occurs with respect to temporal coordinate systems set up in this manner. It is an effect where another clock is being viewed as running slowly by an observer. Observers do not consider their own clock time to be time-dilated, but may find that it is observed to be time-dilated in another coordinate system.

_Suddenly, someone grabbed me by my hair and pulled me up. I grunted and struggled. It was Ino-pig and her little followers. Someone held a knife a few inches from my neck: where my jugular vein is, to be precise. _

_Someone whispered into my ear,"I told you you'd pay for messing with us, nerd."_

_It was Karin. Crud. What now? The have a _knife_! And they're crazy enough to actually kill me, I'm sure._

_Ino came up and slapped me. "That's for insulting me!" she pulled her fist back, "And _this_ is for Sasuke-kun!"_

'_Oh my gosh!' My eyes watered, 'I'm so scared! I-I don't wanna die!' I closed my eyes._

_All of a sudden, I hear Ino stutter in a fearful tone, "Wh-what's going on?"_

_I opened my eyes and everything seemed normal. And then I saw it. In the glass…I didn't have a reflection! Even though it was all very confusing, I took advantage of the situation. I took ahold of Karin's knife and used it to cut myself free. Pink hair became visible to them as it floated toward the ground and I made a run for it._

_I knew it was only a matter of time before they would come after me. I felt so afraid, so I ran all the way to Wal-Mart. I have no idea why, but something inside me just felt safer there. I was still catching my breath when I felt a hand on my shoulder, "Aaaaaaaaaahhh!"_

"_Calm down, it's just me! Jiraya-sensei," _

_I turned around, "Oh, Sensei, you scared me for a second there."_

"_Yeah, I can tell. Listen, I need to speak to you in private about a serious matter." he pointed at the doors, "If you would follow me into Wal-Mart, please?" _

_I was confused, "Why Wal-Mart?"_

"_You'll see. C'mon," he said as he began leading me into the store._

My reminiscing was interrupted, "You're Sakura Haruno, right?"

'It. Cannot. Be.' I opened my eyes, 'It _is_!'

There, before me, was _the_ Sasuke Uchiha. And he was talking to _me_!

"Yeah, th-that's me, why?" I answered his question.

His face gave nothing away, "There's something I need to discuss with you."

'Huh?' I raised an eyebrow, "What about?"

He looked left and right and quietly muttered, "Do want to my frien?"

"What?"

He sighed, "I want t you be fried?"

"You want me to be fried?"

He raised his voice in annoyance, "I said, do you want to be my GIRLFRIEND!"

"Oh."

"You don't have to answer straight away…give it some thought."

* * *

I smiled as I made my way to Wal-Mart. '_Nothing_ could ruin my day today!' I entered SATF and saw Uchiha. I smiled and waved at him happily, 'Nope not even _that_ can ruin my day because I have a date with Sakura-chan!'

Soon enough, Sakura arrived. Something was off, though. She was completely silent as she sat alone. I was about to go ask her what was wrong, but Kakashi-sensei appeared just as I was getting up.

"Okay you three, let's work on sparring. Naruto, you fight with Sasuke, and Sakura," he said, turning to her, "you're with me."

* * *

I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My now-short hair held two red hair clips, and I was wearing faded denim skinny jeans, a red halter blouse, and black sandals. I looked good, but I couldn't help sporting a frown, feeling guilty after Sasuke's question…

I headed down stairs and my dad, who was reading a novel, looked up, "Hey, baby, ready to go?"

I nodded, "Yes."

When we arrived, through the window, I could see Uzumaki. He was wearing an orange T-shirt, black jeans, and black and white Converses.

"_You look great."_

"_You look pretty good yourself."_

"_Attention, everyone! Please gather around the center of the park and locate yourselves in front of the platform."_

My eyes widened, 'Wh-what _was_ that?'

"Sakura?" my father asked

"Huh?"

"Time to go, Marshmallow. You OK?"

"Ye-yes, I'm fine, dad."

"If you say so…I'll pick you up after the movie ends."

"Mhm, bye."

I left my father and walked toward where Naruto was waiting for me, "Hi."

"Hey," he smiled, but his eyes were sad, "You look great."

_"Hey! C'mon, it might not be The Button Festival, but it's still _a _festival. Let's have some fun!"_

I ignored his comment and that strange flash of..something. "Let's buy the movie tickets."

The movie seemed long and torturous, I couldn't stop thinking about those weird flashes. But, at some point it ended and I stood outside with Naruto.

"It's getting pretty late," he commented.

_"I better get going, it's getting late." _

_"I'll walk you home. Like you said, it's late. I wouldn't want you walking around alone." Skin brushing softly. Flashes of electricity!_

Just then my dad pulled up, "Sorry, Uzumaki, I…gotta go. Bye."

* * *

I threw myself onto the couch between Jiraya and my dad, with a sigh.

"Ouch! That sounds like a sad sigh. Was it _that_ bad?" my dad asked

"I wore these clothes hoping it would trigger some kind of memory, but nothing. When I said she looked good, she _ignored_ me. I let her pick the movie; she picked a comedy and she didn't laugh the whole film. Not _once_." I threw my hands up, "Heck! It got so awkward that halfway through the movie, _I_ stopped laughing. And finally, when she left, she said _nothing—_no 'I had a good time', no 'It was fun' NOTHING!"

Jiraiya patted my back, "It'll get better kid…it'll get better."

I chuckled bitterly, "Heh, I sure hope it does…"

* * *

Onyx eyes bore into mine, "So what's your answer?"

"I, um…"

"…_So if what you said about being born alone is the reason you don't wanna be friends, then you're going to have to find a better excuse because, whether you approve it or not, I will always think of you as my _friend._ So see you tomorrow, _friend_!"_

"Well?"

"What? Oh, sorry. Right. Um…Yes, my answer is yes." It all happened so fast.

He smirked.

Naruto entered the hallway.

Sasuke laced his fingers in mine and kissed my neck.

Naruto paused, his eyes wide. I stared at him with a fearful expression.

Naruto shook with rage.

I began to tremble.

Sasuke pulled back and smirked.

Naruto stormed off.

And just like that, it was over…

If, by any chance, our gazes met or we crossed paths, he would look the other way or go in a different direction. It was as if, to him, I…just didn't exist anymore. And even though being with Sasuke was _everything_ I had dreamed of and more; for some reason I was _unhappy_. It just felt like, as if he held a part of me. When Naruto left…so did my heart.

I looked up as Kakashi-sensei entered. We were about to start SATF. He looked at Naruto who was sitting six feet away with his back facing me.

Kakashi crossed his arms, "Okay _enough_! Today we are going to do something _different_. This time it's all of you versus," he snapped his fingers "_this_."

There before us was a door. Kakashi-sensei opened the door and a gush of wind sucked us all in. Suddenly, we were in a metal maze. Before us was these glowing spheres. One was red, one blue and one yellow. A screen that seemed to be a map of the maze appeared.

Sensei's voice echoed through the air, "Your mission is to take your sphere to the green dot, there,which is the 'GOAL'. Do so as quickly as you can without using your powers. Good luck!"

I could just _feel_ the happy eye crinkle in his voice…

We each grabbed a sphere and ran. Sasuke and I were ahead and Naruto was so far behind I couldn't even see him. Whether he was doing that on purpose or not, I had no idea. We went through quite a few obstacles and passed them all until we reached one in which I tripped after my leg was cut in five different places. There was blood all over.

"Sasuke-kun help!"

He turned around his eyes scanning my leg, he looked at me and the road. As if I was a toy he was done with he simply said, "Sorry, but I don't have time to waste on a _deadweight_ like you."

And he just ran ahead...

I began to silently cry, Sasuke was a complete jerk! I simply cannot believe I left Naruto for this idiot! Wait, back up. Leave Naruto? I- _We_ never had anything to begin with, right? I knew this was a terrible choice I should have never said yes to Sasuke…_never_.

Soon enough, Naruto arrived and did something I didn't expect. Without saying a word, he gave me both our spheres to hold and picked me up bridal style. He ran and passed through all the obstacles and a few feet away from the goal he stopped. He was panting heavily, his face a few inches from mine.

"Are you OK, Sakura-chan?"

And then, as we remained like that—me in Naruto's arms—something lifted and it all came rushing back:

"_I went to lower secondary education here, so I know where room 1-C is and I'm headed there anyway" _

"_My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'd like my headphones back"_

"_Leave her alone she said it was an _accident_" _

"_Uzumaki…Naruto Uzumaki, and what do you mean _trying _to save you? I did save you!"_

"_You did save me this morning by helping me find my way, but just now, we were about to get the crap beaten out of us by that senior's boyfriend!"_

"_But we didn't get the crap beaten out of us!"_

"_Okay that made _no _sense! How did we go from underground to falling through the ceiling?" _

_"Boyfriend?"_

_"No, I'm single. That was my dad."_

_"I'm glad I met you! It's good to have a friend when you're new in town,"_

_"Friends? We're _not _friends. I don't _have _friends and I don't _want _any. We're born alone, we die alone! If we needed friends, we would be born with friends."_

_"From the minute we're created, we're not alone_…_So see you tomorrow, _friend_!"_

"_Don't play dumb...why? Why did you just up and disappear after what I told you? Why is it that you can't even face reality?"_

_"I realized that because of my frustration at being left behind, at being invisible to everyone, I was turning into a negative and rude person. I kept all that bottled up inside of me and took it out on everyone around me."_

_"Doesn't look like anything is here…but just to be safe let's get out of here. I don't think being at a cemetery at night is the best idea in the world."_

_"What were you doing in a barrel?"_

"_My mother used to tell me bedtime stories about the 'Slug Princess' Garden'. She described it just like this place—to the last detail. So I can only believe that this is the garden from the stories."_

_"I can see my house from here; it's only a few houses away, so I think I can handle going the rest of the way alone."_

_"Are you sure?"_

_"Sakura-chan! You're awake!"_

"…_thank you for saving me, Naruto. I knew you would find me!"_

_"What happened with Orochimaru is just the beginning…until your powers emerge, it's not safe for you to be involved with us. So, we're eliminating you from the classes until further notice. You can no longer be in the SATF as it's too dangerous. Good bye, Sakura."_

And then as if overwhelmed by all these emotions I closed the distance between us and pressed my lips against his...

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay I hope you liked and from now on I won'tbe uploading as often, but I'm planning on giving you longer chapters. So... longer wait, but better and longer chapters :) ! ****`till then happy reading ^^ ! **

** -Lilyonalillypad**


	12. More Than Just A Dream?

**Author's Note: Well, here it is! Sorry for the long wait. Hope you enjoy. Please R&R**

****

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO. This was made purely for entertainment and I am gaining no monetary profit from it.

* * *

Chapter 12: Was It Really More Than Just a Dream?

'Why did I _kiss_ him?'

**_'Maybe because you love him!' _**

'What? _Me_? Love…Naruto? Why on earth would I come to that conclusion?'

"S-Sakura…chan?" Naruto was utterly dumbfounded

I could feel my face redden as I ran away, ignoring the pain that running brought to my leg. I looked back and saw Kakashi-sensei talking to Naruto. I thought they would come after me, but they did not…

As I ran, I left a trail of blood behind me. People stared; children pointed and their parents pulled them away. I ran and ran all the way to the hospital. I was beginning to feel weak from the blood loss. The smart thing to do, and what would save my life, would be to enter the hospital. I'm smart and I have _always _been known for making the right decision, so when faced with this decision, I ran up to through the hospital doors and then…I ran right by them to the back of the hospital and into the pile of junk.

I don't know _why_ I came to 'The Slug Princess' Garden'. In fact, I shouldn't be here at all! I should be in the _hospital_…

I was beginning to feel dizzy, so I sat down. I knew I should have gone to the hospital! I placed my hand on my injured leg and the strangest thing happened…

My hand started _glowing_!

The glow was a light green color and was _healing_ my wound. I was in complete awe when, suddenly, I felt like someone was watching me. I looked up and there she was…

Long light blond hair tied in low pigtails, red lips and nails, honey brown eyes, a small purple diamond on her forehead, an enormous bust, and a white lab coat over a green coat and a small little pig by her feet. She looked like she was to bein her mid-thirties. Engraved on her white lab coat along with the title of "Head MD" was the name…the name?

I couldn't focus; the letters were flying all over the place. I was too dizzy. Soon enough, the darkness took over and that's she was the last thing I saw or heard.

All was calm as Sasuke entered the Uchiha household. Just like the house's calm air, he went up the stairs, his feet barely making a sound.

Some time later, with the homework and studying done for the day, clothes and papers all tucked away, he laid in bed contemplating and replaying the scene from earlier today, analyzing and looking at all the alternatives and options.

He was feeling very bitter. He had originally planned on crushing Naruto by dating Sakura. When the dobe finally accepted them, since it made 'Sakura-chan' happy, he would dump her, thus bringing more pain to the idiot's healing heart. After all, that's what he deserved for carrying his heart around on his sleeve.

He glared angrily at nothing in particular. Still…_maybe_, just maybe if when she had been hurt, when she had asked for help and he bore into her desperate green eyes…if he had just _helped_ her, perhaps then the kiss would not have come to be. That was the thing though: he _didn't_ help her and the kiss _did_ happen. So what now? What move should be made? What could be done?

Her emotions came out of thin air. She had not shown any signs of really caring whether he was around or not. Before, all she cared about was that he do his part in cleaning the hallway. She had suddenly turned into a fan girl. When did that transition happen? Just what _caused_ that change? It just didn't make sense. It came quickly, so it is was probably something fickle that may leave as quickly and mysteriously as it came…

All these thoughts and more whirled in the young Uchiha's mind. To his misfortune, his train of thought was halted by the sound of a gentle knock echoing through his bedroom. He recognized that knock with its grace and perfection it brought. It was the knock that could only come from the graceful yet at the same time powerful hands of his eldest and only sibling. That was Itachi at the door.

While Sasuke decided whether or not to ignore his brother, Itachi began to grow impatient knocking now as he knocked for the third time. He made sure to not but making sure to not let the slightest sign of being annoyed annoyance show as he kept knocking, despite the room's silence.

Sure of his choice decision, Sasuke laid back and made himself comfortable.

"Excuse me, dear brother, but father requests your presence downstairs immediately, " Itachi announced, his impatience masked by his intentionally monotone voice.

'Father wants to see…me?' Sasuke was shocked, but of course quickly got out of bed and exited into the hall, all the while trying to hide his eagerness. Itachi could detect his brother's thoughts and allowed himself a smirk at his brother's reaction at the news he brought.

Sasuke and Itachi made their way through the house and into a room void of all furniture. There, sitting with his eyes closed, was Fugaku Uchiha, their father.

"You requested my presence, Father?" Sasuke said from his place beside his brother at the room's entrance.

"Yes. Come and sit before me," Fugaku stated simply.

"Yes, sir." Sasuke complied.

"Do you know why I called you here, Sasuke?"

"No, Father, I do not."

Fugaku opened his eyes, "What do you think I send you to school for?"

Sasuke was quite confused and beginning to fear any wrath his father may lay upon him, "To learn?"

"Yes. That is correct." Fugaku glared, "If you comprehend this, then can you please explain how it is that you got a score lower than 98 on a test?"

"I…"

"Clearly it is obvious that you could never be as gifted as Itachi, so I do not expect you to skip grades or to break the score ruler, but I cannot accept anything lower than a 98%. You are representing the Uchihas. And you wanted me to place you in a private school when you give me this kind of grade?"

"But father it was only a 97. I only missed by one point."

"One point is enough to make a difference. Just look at Itachi and everything he has achieved. He would not have been able to achieve anything if he had your 'tt was just one point' attitude."

"…"

"Well then, if you truly have nothing more to say, then I will just have to-"

"Father," Itachi intercepted for the first time, "Perhaps you should go easy on Sasuke this time."

Fugaku's face showed no emotion though he was angered by Itachi's interference, "You are dismissed, Sasuke. Do not let this happen again."

"Yes, Father, thank you." Sasuke was furious, but exited in a respective manner nonetheless.

Sasuke couldn't believe he could have allowed himself to get so distracted in something as trivial as crushing Uzumaki—who had done nothing directly to him. He had gotten so caught up in that matter that he had lost sight of what was really important in life…to wreak vengeance upon Itachi.

'Vengeance for the way he raised my father's expectations,' Sasuke mentally declared as he made his way to his room.

I woke up with a feeling of déjà vu. It all seemed so familiar: the IV drip, the white walls, the bright lights. It was just like when I was hospitalized before, except, there was no relieved Naruto by my side and, for some reason, that really bothered me.

I liked the dream better.

Dream.

I suppose that's the key word: _dream_. It felt so _real,_ though. Maybe, just maybe, it _wasn't_ a dream. Maybe it was something _else_. Like a…? Hm… Like a…

"Memory…" I muttered, barely louder than a whisper.

The door opened and the blond woman from before entered, followed by a girl with short black hair in a cute pixie cut. She had onyx colored eyes and looked like she was to bein her early twenties.

"So you're awake, huh?" the blond woman asked.

This time I was able to read the name on her lab coat since I wasn't dizzy. It was Tsunade Senju.

"What happened?" I was surprised to hear my voice so low, barely above a more than a whisper, unable to talk at the normal level.

"You fainted. You had lost a lot of blood," she pointed at a half empty transfusion bag, "if it weren't for your healing abilities, you wouldn't have made it."

"My _healing_ abilities?"

"Yes, your healing abilities. It's a rare power and there aren't many of us who have it."

"…"

"My name is Tsunade," she motioned toward the black-haired girl, "and this is my assistant, Shizune."

Tsunade's honey brown eyes bore into mine, "I want you to become my apprentice. There's a whole world of possibilities and opportunities open to you; it won't be easy, but if you're willing to accept the challenge, I'll teach you everything I know."

I took a moment to think things over.

Over the past weeks that I've been training at SATF from what I have seen the boys are more skilled than I am…

Naruto has raw talent.

Sasuke has _years_ of experience.

And _I_ am _average_. I have _no_ experience nor do I have natural talent. So while I learn at a normal pace the guys belong to an advanced class. If I become someone's apprentice then I will be that person's sole focus and I can use that to my advantage so that I may learn at my _own_ pace _without _feeling rushed or left behind.

_This_ though involves _healing_ and not active battle. But, then again, my abilities are more for _defense_ than offense anyway…

Those two, mostly Naruto though, have a tendency of getting hurt so having a healer in our little group _would_ come in handy.

With a determined look, and in a clear, even, and strong voice, I said, "I would be honored to become your apprentice, but there is something I must do before we begin."

Her eyes widened slightly and with a confused look she asked in confusion, "And that is?"

Fugaku waited a few minutes, making sure that Sasuke was nowhere near the room, before he spoke. "Itachi," he closed his eyes and motioned for Itachi to sit. His eldest son wisely remained silent as he moved to sit in front of his father. Fugaku opened his eyes, "Tell me. Itachi. Would you be kind enough as to explain _why_ you not only interrupted me while I spoke to Sasuke, but you also meddled in my affairs?"

His tone was dripping with dry humor and a bit of mockery.

"I do not see was what there is to explain, Father. I merely spoke my mind. A simple comment on my view of the situation."

"View?" he scoffed, "You should not have a view _at all_."

"And why is that? I am a free citizen just like you, I have the right to be entitled to my own opinion."

"This was between Sasuke and me," his voice began to rise, "It was none of your business. _I_ am the parent here not _you_. I have the right to punish Sasuke however I see fit. _Stay out of my affairs_."

And with that final statement a deep silence filled the room.

Now, just like every other time, Itachi had made his father lose control of his emotions. Fugaku was highly skilled at controlling his emotions, no one could ever tell how he felt, but his eldest son always could. Itachi _always_ knew how Fugaku felt and how to irritate him. The young man was one of, if not _the_ most skilled Uchiha. Unfortunately for his father, Itachi was far more intelligent and talented than the elder Uchiha could ever be. The young man knowing well that he won this argument by making his father show great emotion stood up, excused himself and left.

Naruto entered his home as quietly as he could manage, trying to avoid his parents and probably Jiraiya, since the sage seemed to be around pretty often.

Unfortunately, just as he was about to go up the stairs, his father called out, his father called out from the living room as he was going up the stairs,"Naruto, come here for a second."

Naruto grumbled, slowly retreating to enter the living room, where he found his father on the couch, accompanied by Jiraiya.

"I got your report card the other day, and I have to say I wasn't at all pleased with what I saw."

Naruto cringed, 'Crud! I totally forgot about that.'

"Naruto, we've discussed this. I know that with training and everything, it's harder to study, but you have to pull up your grades. They haven't been this low since middle school." Minato continued to lecture Naruto. Jiraiya, bored with the subject of the reprimanding, tuned father and son out. A motion from the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he questioningly stared at Sakura, who waving at him from outside. She made a gesture, beckoning him to come outside. Confused, Jiraiya excused himself, barely missed by either Minato or Naruto.

He shut the door behind him, approaching the girl, "Why hello there, Sakura. What can I do for you?"

Her eyes looked into his with determination, "Let's take a walk."

And so they began to walk. When Naruto's house was finally out of sight, Sakura spoke up, "I want to know. I need proof that it wasn't all just a dream…A crazy illusion."

Jiraya turned serious, "What do you mean?"

"When I was kidnapped by Orochimaru, rescued and later on hospitalized…Did you erase my memories?"

"…"

"Well?" she glared at him, "I want the truth; I don't want any more lies! What happened? Did you or did you not erase my memories?"

He lowered his head in shame, "I did. I erased your memories, but know that it was only for your own safety."

"My own safety? Tell me, couldn't you have asked me what I wanted? If I wanted to forget it all or not?" she raised her voice in anger, "Because of you I got mixed up with that jerk Sasuke. If you hadn't erased my memories…"

She took a deep breath to clam herself, "Listen, you've made a mess of my life and have brought great pain to Naruto's, but I ask you for only _one_ favor. Think of it as a way of making up for erasing my memories."

"And what is that?"

"Do _not_ under _any_ circumstances tell Naruto that my memories have returned."

He was both shocked and confused, "Why?"

She shook her head, "Just…just keep quiet for now. When the moment is right, _I_ will be the one to tell him about my memories returning."

* * *

**Author's Note: Did you like it? I hope not to get too distracted, what with Christmas and Three Kings and all, so that I can write Chapter 13 soon. Anywho, Happy Holidays. Please review :)**


	13. Issues Of The Heart

**Author's Note: Hi guys! So here it is Chapter 13 hope you enjoy. Special thanks to my beta reader Persephonae (.net/u/1940516/Persephonae) for helping me out :D Check out her stuff it's awesome!**

**R&R**

* * *

Chapter 13: _Issues Of The Heart_

After his conversation with Sakura, Jiraiya headed over to Ichiraku Ramen where someone awaited him.

"I trust you know the current situation, Itachi?"

"Hn."

"Orochimaru will make his move soon." Jiraiya sighed, "Unfortunately, attacking right now would be a mistake; the best we can do for now is up our surveillance."

"Hn. I agree."

Jiraiya gasped dramatically, "That was three words! Oh my, I didn't know the situation was affecting you so much, Uchiha."

Itachi glared at him, "I'm going home. I don't have time for playful banter." He poofed away, leaving a pensive Jiraiya alone.

"Hm, after all these years of doing recon together, that is actually the longest streak of words I've ever heard him utter," the white haired man said thoughtfully.

* * *

In the hospital, a blond woman walk through the corridors, her blue heels softly _click-clacking_. When she finally enters her office and sits down, a young woman with a pixie cut enters.

"Tsunade-sama, what are we going to do? We must do something! Sasuke Uchiha is clearly his target," she whispered

Tsunade rubbed her temples,"Ugh, Shizune. I have way too much paperwork and I've had a very long day; the last thing I need is to deal with this problem as well."

A pink-haired girl entered the room quickly, startling both women. Large, curious green eyes stared at Tsunade, "Shishou, what if I told you that I could solve your dilemma?"

One blond brow rose. "And how are you going to do that?"

Sakura smiled mischievously.

* * *

I sighed. I was sitting in History class listening to Asuma-sensei go on and on about some war. I rested my chin on my hand and look around; the entire class seemed to be tuning our teacher out. While the navy-haired man wrote on his chalkboard, the whole class either doodled on their desks, daydreamed or texted...me? I decided to invest my time thinking about some situations that needed my attention. First and foremost, the one thin-or rather, person—that overpowered all other thoughts in my mind: Sakura. This entire time she's been all over Sasuke. I mean, ever since she had her memories erased he's the only thing she cares about. They were even dating. And suddenly, she kisses me? I just don't get it. Why? Why kiss _me_? I'm just Naruto.

I was so deep in thought that I stood up ran my hands through my hair in a frantic manner while exclaiming, "This is so frustrating!"

I wasn't until I saw everyone looking at me like I was crazy that I realized what I had done.

Asuma-sensei's confused eyes met mine, "Um, well it's nice to see you are taking the lesson so personally, but please refrain from sudden outbursts of emotions."

I blushed, "Yes sir. It's just the whole war and how our village suffered back in 1832, it really, um, got to me...I'll do my best to contain myself in the future."

Everyone soon went back to what they were doing before. I sank into my seat, _'Sakura. Why do you make me feel this way?'_

* * *

I smiled as I finished the cleaning run I always do with Sasuke. While he was putting the supplies away, I pushed him into the janitor's closet, walked in, and closed the door behind me.

Sasuke looked at me as if I was insane, "What the heck are you doing?"

"I have something I want to talk to you about, and I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't run away."

He lifted an eyebrow, "And in order to do this, you decided to lock us in the janitor's closet?"

I glared at him, "I didn't lock the door."

He rolled his eyes and I barely heard him over the sound of the bell, which indicated that it was time for gym class. "The door closes on its own. The only way to open it is from the outside."

As soon as the bell finished ringing we both stared at each other, our faces reflecting the same emotion.

I let out a nervous laugh, "It's okay. Someone will see we are missing and will come look for us, right?"

He stared at me, hesitating before answering, "Right."

And then we heard it: Gai-sensei's voice. We could hear him so clearly because the janitor's closet is was next to the gym. Though, I think even Kakashi-sensei could hear him from his classroom, which was all the way on the other side of the school. Gai-sensei always yelled so enthusiastically.

"Students! I have great news!"

Sasuke and I glanced at each other for a moment.

"I have decided that today is beautiful and sunny and that we should cancel gym. Now go forth, my children, and spread your youthful joy and energy throughout the village!"

A chorus of cheers sounded and we began to pound on the door, yelling for help.

* * *

As I entered gym, everyone avoided me. I don't blame them; I looked like I was ready to kill the first fool who dared to get near me. I was so angry.

As usual, Sakura and Sasuke were on mop duty, no big deal, right? _Wrong!_ They were gone all period and here we are in gym and they're _still not back_. They probably got back together or something.

'_Argh! WHY? Why did you do this to me? It hurts so much. Why kiss me, give me hope—the small window of possibility that you might be mine and not Sasuke's if you're just going to hook up with him again?'_

Ugh...Sakura is going to make me lose my mind. I don't know how much longer I can handle this emotional roller coaster. I sat down, alone, in a corner just as Fuzzy Brows entered. He seemed even weirder than normal today.

"Students! I have great news!" he yelled, throwing his arms in the air.

I sat there dumbfounded as Spandex Man announced that class was canceled for the day and that we were free to go. Cheers, claps, and whistles erupted throughout the gym. I just shrugged and got up.

_Oh well, not my fault this guy's crazy enough to let us go home early just because it's nice out. Besides, I am in no mood to deal with him today._

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"_What?_", I turned around and glared at the person who called my name, ready to yell at them in my frustration. I immediately regretted my actions though, as I realized that it was just a girl.

She winced and her voice wavered with every word, "I-I'm s-so s-sorry."

She was about to turn around and leave, but I stopped her, "Wait, um...look, uh, Hinata, right? You don't need to apologize. I'm the one who should apologize. I was in a really bad mood and it wasn't your fault, so I shouldn't have reacted that way when you spoke to me. I'm really sorry."

"Please tell me what it was that you were going to say," I pleaded her, "I promise I'll listen."

"I-I was wondering, if, um...maybe we could hang out? Since class is canceled."

Hm? Do I really want to go out with Hinata? I mean, I'm still pretty upset with the whole Sakura situation...then again, maybe this is just what I need to get my mind off her. Besides, it's the least I could do after yelling at the poor girl.

"Sure. Let's go."

She seemed shocked when I agreed, but still smiled when I offered my arm. She took hold of the inside of my elbow and we made our way out of the gym.I was already feeling a little better, that is, until we passed by the janitor's closet and I heard Sakura's voice.

"Oh, Sasuke!"

I stopped abruptly. That was the final straw for me. I took a deep breath, and if I looked scary before, I looked a thousand times worse now. I honestly cannot believe this whole time they have been locked in that closet doing God-knows-what! I was just about to open the closet and pull her off him when something tugged my sleeve. It was then that I remembered Hinata was here.

She looked at me with a worried expression, "A-Are you O-OK, Naruto-kun?"

I shook my head, "Yes, I'm sorry, don't worry about it. It's nothing. Let's get out of here."

* * *

**Author's Note: So there you have it! Ooh I wonder what's happening in the closet since we last checked ;) Got some NaruHina love right there, talk about a plot twist! Don't worry guys it's still gonna be a NaruSaku in the end :)**

**Well please review, 'like' my facebook page (.com/pages/Lilyonalillypad/119573921435115)**

**Also me and my best friend are writing an original story called "Adventures of ZAC" so far we've only written the character and story descriptions. For now it will only be availible on this facebook page (.com/pages/The-Adventures-of-ZAC/212506285453648) depending on how it goes we'll decide if we'll start posting it on other sites as well incluiding wattpad, wordpress and tumblr. Check it out if you think it sounds interesting then 'like' it, if it's not your style then thank you for checking it out.**

**That's it. As for when the next chapter would be up I would like to say next week, but that wouldn't be for sure. I can assure you guys it should be up by July 14, but I'm hoping to be able to finish it and get it up here much earlier. See you in Chapter 14 or on facebook, bye :) !**


	14. Not always as they seem

_****_**Author's Note: Let's not even talk about how long it's been, shall we? I apologize for never managing to update regularly. Enjoy the chapter.**

_**R&R**_

Chapter 14: _Things aren't always as they seem to be_

Green leaves rode the wind currents, flying high above like a wide camera shot in a movie. They flew through the village, giving bestowing a new perspective. They breezed over frolicking children in playgrounds, ninjas on training fields, and bustling streets.

A large house comes into view, the leaves crashing toward it with incredible speed. There, a scene unfolds...

"I'm home," a young man with black hair stated as he entered the kitchen.

A navy haired woman looked up from the vegetables she was cutting, "Itachi, welcome home, dear." She gave him a kiss on the cheek, "So how did your test go?"

"Hn."

The woman who was very experienced in interpreting small verbal expressions understood exactly what Itachi's 'hn' meant and replied, "I'm so glad it went well."

Instead of repeating another simple word, he gave her two sentences, "I do not see why you worry or ask me. You know well that I excel at everything I do."

She smiled, a single thought in her mind _'Itachi saying a full sentence is his special way of telling me he cares..._' or, at least, that was in her opinion.

"I'm your mom. It's my job to worry about you, no matter how old you are."

He gave her a small glare as she snickered.

The atmosphere thickened and they both sobered as a man with a very intimidating atmosphere about him entered the room. He looked around, "Where is Sasuke?"

"He's not back yet, but you know how it is in the SATF. Sometimes training takes a little longer than usual...I'm sure he'll be home soon," the mother stated, internally panicking.

"Hn...I have some work to attend to." And with that, he left. Once he was out of hearing range, she turned to look at her son, "You have to do something! If Sasuke doesn't get back before dinner, you're father will go out and find my poor baby himself. You know he's been in a bad mood lately; if he looks for him, it's likely that he'll take all of his frustration out on Sasuke!"

And so Itachi headed out to find his younger brother.

* * *

"Oh, Sasuke!" I sat down defeated, "What am I going to do now?"I said the last part more to myself than anyone in particular. Sasuke sat down as well, in another corner. It was quiet for awhile and then...

"What did you want to ask me?"

I looked up, startled, "Huh?"

"The reason you got us into this whole mess was because you wanted to ask me something. What did you want to ask me?"

"Oh." I took a moment to think, "You were Orochimaru's student, in the SATF before he left, right?"

"No. Actually I studied under Anko."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Well...do you know what he's after?"

He straightened his posture, "What do you mean?"

"Um...I'm not sure if I can trust you."

"You _can_ trust me."

"Oh really? Just like I could _'trust'_ you during the test when you _left me_ to fend for _myself_?"

He glared, "Of course you would bring that up."

"Look, don't think that being locked in a closet with you is going to make me suddenly incredibly forgiving. If you want me to _trust_ you, then you are just going to have to earn it back the _hard_ way."

He shook his head and remained silent for a while.

* * *

Itachi ran. He hadn't been in such a rush in years. Not racing against time, not one hundred percent sure just where he would find his target. He almost forgot what it felt like-he was always one step ahead. If he wasn't worried about what his father would do if he found Sasuke first, he would smile! Well, at least on the inside.

He checked many places: the training grounds, Wal-Mart, SATF...

He asked around to see if anyone had seen his brother, but no one had...

He stopped when he saw Naruto and the Hyuuga heiress entering a barbeque restaurant.

"Naruto."

The blond stopped and turned toward Itachi. He raised one brow in question.

"Have you seen Sasuke? I must find him."

Naruto glared at Itachi. He seemed almost ready to yell at him, even! Of course both Itachi and Naruto knew that he wouldn't dare yell at the genius Uchiha heir even if he was using his Uzumaki facade.

He stared at a street pole as he answered Itachi's question, "I don't know where _Sasuke_ is. Last time I saw him, he was making out with Sakura in the janitor's closet at school."

Itachi nodded and left. Well at least now he knew where he was going.

* * *

"A-are you...o-okay?"came a whisper from beside me.

I shook my head; I almost forgot Hinata was with me. "Yes, I'm fine."

She gave me a worried look that seemed to have a touch of uncertainty in it. Still, she nodded and accepted my reply. We entered the restaurant and sat down in a booth that looked out toward the street.

"You know, Hinata...we've been classmates for years, but I don't really know much about you."

She played with her sleeves, "I-I, um, I...I'm-"

"Shy?"

"W-well y-yes, but I meant to say...that um," she took a deep breath. I looked at her expectantly. She open her mouth and closed it. Finally, after a short pause, she said, "...Nevermind."

"What, that's it? Never mind?" She looked around nervously and I sighed, "Fine. Look, if you don't want to tell me you don't have to, but I would really appreciate it if you could maybe pretend I'm an old friend and just relax."

She smiled weakly.

"You're the Hyuuga heiress, right?"

She nodded.

"Wow, that must suck. I mean, you know with all that protocol you have to follow. I bet those old advisors are a bunch of sticks in the mud, huh?" I leaned back in my seat, "I mean, they're always like, 'My Lord or My Lady, don't do this, don't do that. What were you _thinking_? Don't marry that _thing..._it's of an inferior social class. Good heavens, you're late! Come, we have a meeting to attend to.' Don't you agree?"

She giggled and I grinned. Spending time with Hinata was definitely better than thinking about what Sakura was doing right now.

* * *

We were covered in sweat, it was so hot in here. Sasuke had taken off his shirt. I had taken off my blue vest and loosened my gold tie.

"Sasuke."

"What?"

I sighed, "Don't think this means I trust you entirely yet, but I really need this info. What I meant was that Orochimaru, he's not on the run."

He looked at me like I had just said the dumbest thing he'd ever heard,"He almost got arrested, why wouldn't he be on the run?"

"He is hiding. Waiting for the right moment to strike. I don't know the details or what he wants to achieve, but I know that he needs _you_ in order to do whatever it is he wants to do."

"Hn..."

"Promise me."

He looked at me confused and lifted a brow, "Promise you?"

"Yes. Promise me that no matter what you will not let Orochimaru use you. That any and every decision you make, will be because you want to do it and not because he tricked you into doing it."

"Why do you sound so sure that I will at some point be close to giving Orochimaru what he wants?"

"Because after spending all this time in a closet with you. I can say confidently that I _know_ you and that's why I'm telling you this. Please don't do it for what ever little good you have in you, or if you truly want to regain anyone's trust. I can help you if you help me."

He seemed like he was about to say something when suddenly the door opened. There, on the other side, was the janitor and a very attractive guy.

The hot guy raised one eyebrow and the janitor just glared at us, "Get out."

We both got out of there as quickly as possible. The janitor left, angrily muttering to himself.

Sasuke looked at the hottie, "Itachi?"

_'Oh, so __**this**__ is Itachi?'_

_**'Ooh! Looks like been good looking runs in the blood because he is fiiiine!'**_

I shook my head, dismissing the insane thoughts.

Itachi eyed us, "I was told you were making out, though now I'm almost afraid to ask just how far that went..."

Sasuke and I both blushed. Itachi smirked and Sasuke glared.

"Wait." I looked the older sibling in the eyes, "Who said we were making out?"

"Naruto."

"N-Naruto thought that me and Sasuke were...making out?"

"It seems so."

"I-I gotta go..." I started walking away. I needed to find Naruto and clear things up. As I left, I heard Sasuke arguing with his brother.

"We were not making out!"

"Hn."

"We just got trapped in that closet and with no AC, and barely getting any air, it's bound to get hot. Hence the sweat and lack of shirt on my part."

Their conversation keep fading until it was no more as I walked further away.

_'Ugh, why didn't I ask where Naruto was before I left?'_

_'__**Maybe you were too busy being worried that you'll lose your chance at dating him.'**_

_'Ugh! What? No! He, I...'_

_'__**You know I'm right, admit it.'**_

_'I will not!'_

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I had stopped paying attention to where I was going. Now that I could focus on the matter-at-hand once more, I realized that I was in a part of town I've never been in before.

_'That's just great, how am I suppose to find my way home now?'_

_'__**Not my fault you didn't pay attention to where you were going.'**_

_'Actually, it is your fault!'_

_**'But I am you. So technically it is YOUR fault.'**_

_'...Oh, just shut up.'_

I glared in no particular direction, angry at myself. Then, I noticed that behind the large bay window of a barbeque restaurant were Hinata and Naruto. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. They were laughing and talking...

_'I wish I knew what they were saying.'_

_'__**Then let's go find out.'**_

_'What!'_

_**'Oh c'mon, you said so yourself. You want to know what they're saying, right? Then let's go spy on them.'**_

_'What if they see us?'_

_**'They won't! Now stop being such a baby and go!'**_

I nodded confidently. _'I can do this.' _

I made my way into the restaurant. I sat on the first table I found, grabbed a menu, and opened it—holding it over my face, _'I have to get closer.'_

I got up and inched closer as subtly as possible. I smiled, _'Hey, maybe those SATF lessons are finally paying off. I'm pretty good at this.'_

_**'WATCH OUT!'**_

I opened my eyes widely. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. I had bumped into a waiter who was carrying a tray full of food. And what happened? Well simple, he dropped it all on _me_.

So here I was on the floor, covered in an array of sauces and meat. It was everywhere: on my face, my hair, my clothing... _'What a disaster!'_ I just wanted to disappear. The waiter started apologizing, but I was too busy gazing into the eyes of Naruto. They had seen me! They saw the whole thing! The waiter helped me up and I got out of there faster than you can say Jack Robinson.

I ran across the street and stood behind a tree. I examined myself and groaned. How embarrassing! I just wanted to cry! Could this day get any worse? I turned around; I wanted to see Naruto and Hinata one last time. What I saw smacked me in the face harder than anything I had ever felt.

They were _kissing_!

Naruto just leaned over and kissed Hinata!

I hid behind the tree again, my back to them, I let myself slide down the trunk and onto the small patch of grass. A sobbed escaped my lips, "Why me?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Well tell me what did you think? Did you like it? Are you curious/excited to see what will happen next? :D**

**Thank you all for you love and support, for reading and reviewing. You are all awesome. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon and not in a couple of months like I tend to do. My goal not let more than a month pass by without update. I hope I can do it :) **


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